Breaking Thru the Dawn
by Libby2
Summary: This is how I envisioned the end of the series. A must read for those of you who felt a little less than satisfied by SM's version. Promises to deliver!
1. Chapters 1 and 2

CHAPTER ONE

There was something in the way that he looked at me. It was hard to tell if it was how much he loved me or how much he wanted to taste my blood. With every touch of his icy cold hand, I felt myself melt deeper into his gaze. His piercing gold eyes had a power over me. They could drop me to my knees in an instant. Staring at his face that night, with his eyes staring through to my heart, I'd knew I made the right decision, despite that fact that I had somehow fallen in love with my best friend. Edward Cullen had all of my heart.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Bella?" Edward asked me. Despite his best abilities he was still unable to see into my mind.

"Nothing really?"

"I can see that something is bothering you."

He was right. It was exactly one month before my eighteenth birthday and our wedding day. I was feeling rather nervous. "Same old things. Do I really want to be a bride? Can I handle becoming a vampire? Who should I vote for on American Idol? You know normal stuff."

He laughed, "Why don't you just try to get some sleep tonight." He placed his hand on my head and guided me to his chest. In our usual routine, we had a faux goodbye to appease Charlie and as soon as the front door was shut and locked, Edward was waiting for me in my second story bedroom.

"I'll try, but tomorrow is wedding day planning with Alice. I'm not sure if I can sleep with all of the anticipation of picking out dinner napkins and place cards."

"Is that sarcasm I hear?" He playfully asked.

I raised my head and placed my lips to his. "A little maybe."

He greeted my lips again, carefully outlining my lips with his feverishly cold tongue. For a moment he let me have my way and didn't jolt away. But only for a moment.

"Bella…" he started.

"I know, I know. Not until we are married. At least I have one thing to look forward to."

He smiled as I lay my head back on his chest. I drifted to sleep faster than I'd planned. I was also pleasantly surprised to awake without the memory of any dreams, or nightmares. Sleepless nights had become a normal occurrence for me since my encounter with James, being stalked by Victoria, the Volturi and my best friend's hasty disappearance. Edward was already gone as I groggily sat up in bed. He did leave a note on my pillow.

_Charlie was up early. Enjoy your outing with Alice. I already miss you. Love, Edward._

I was upset that I didn't get a kiss to start my day, but a little excited that I got to have a morning without Edward seeing me with bed head, morning breath and drool on my cheek. It was definitely a perk to being immortal, by eliminating sleep altogether, I would be rid of all three.

After my shower, I head down for breakfast. I'd opted to wear a black t-shirt and black yoga pants this morning to let Alice know how I was feeling about wedding plans.

"Morning, Bells." Charlie greeted me.

"Hi Dad. You were up early." I made myself a bowl of cereal.

"Sorry did I wake you? I'm going fishing with Billy."

"No, I was restless. I was getting up anyway." I lied, knowing full well I'd had the most solid night of sleep I'd had in months.

"Knock, knock." We heard someone say as the front door opened. It was my wedding planner.

"Morning Alice." Charlie said.

I glanced over my bowl of Cheerios. I playfully greeted Alice, "Don't you have to be invited in to enter."

Charlie laughed as if he knew the Cullen family secret. He walked out of the room.

"Oh Bella, you and your teenage angst," she fired back.

I almost lost a mouthful of cereal. "Can you even remember being a teenager?"

We both laughed. "Finish your mortal food and let's get a move on. Lots to do."

"Hey Alice, got my tux?" Charlie asked from the living room.

Charlie's interest in the wedding almost made me giddy. A few weeks ago, when Edward and I told Charlie we were planning on getting married, Charlie was a basket case. One day he was giving me the silent treatment, the next he was crying and saying things about me being his little girl, oh yeah, then there was that one night he was getting his gun to go shoot Edward because he was sure I was pregnant. It was a little humorous due to the fact that Edward **cannot** be a father or be killed by bullets. It seemed as if Charlie was finally coming around.

"I've to pick it up from the tailor today."

My mother was a different story. When I broke the news to her, she couldn't have been more excited. She even ended our call short to call Alice and ask if she could help with any of the planning. She told me that she could tell Edward and I were forever, she said it was in our eyes. That's Renee for you, a hopeless romantic, despite her track record with love.

Alice and I walked out the door to begin our _fun-filled_ day. In a few short hours, I would be back in the arms of the man of love. Even better, in a few short days, I would be able to stay there forever.

CHAPTER TWO

Alice and I pulled up the long drive to Cullen Family Home seven hours later. For a change, the sun was shining today. Alice sparkled a little as she unloaded bags from the car. It was kinda funny to see her carry a parasol all day in town. I didn't think they even made those anymore. Now free from shelter Alice's skin glistened as she made her way to the house.

"We're back." She announced as we walk in.

I was quickly greeted by three sets of cold hands removing the packages from my warm ones. Emmett, Jasper and Edward could tell by my face that I was a little agitated. "I can carry a few boxes without killing myself."

"We know your track record, love." Edward smiled at me.

"You know how I feel about nicknames, _dear_."

"Sorry… we know your track record, Bella."

"Oooh, lover's quarrel." Emmet joked as he followed Jasper and Alice to the other room. It was Alice's wedding room and I was not allowed in. Probably because she knew I'd call the whole thing off if I saw all of her gossamer, tulle and lace.

"Where's the rest of the family?" I asked.

"Rosalie is out and Carlisle and Esme decided to take a vacation before the nuptials. I think the rest of them are hunting tonight." Edward placed his arms around my waist. "Wanna go upstairs?"

Something in Edward's eyes told me that he wasn't interested in talking. "Look at you… pseudo parents and siblings are out of the house and you are already trying to get girls alone in your bedroom. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Just one girl." We laughed as he swept me off my feet and up the stairs. It seemed like only minutes, but soon the sun was down and Edward and I had been in a constant lip-lock. We, or at least I, came up for breath when we noticed the moonlight shining through the window of the dark bedroom.

"That was really fun." I smiled.

"Yeah, I decided that we needed a little practice."

"Practice makes perfect." I started to lean in for more.

"I should probably take a break. My tolerance is better, but not foolproof. I should probably get you home."

"I'm only going home if you promise we don't have to drive." In what seemed like one movement, Edward had me over his shoulder, out the window and running through the woods. When we arrived at 

my house, Edward gently placed me down on the ground. I could tell by his face that he was tense. He kissed me.

"I will see you tomorrow."

"You're not coming up?"

"I have a feeling you are going to have a long night, there's someone waiting for you inside."

"Ok." I stepped back to see his face in the moonlight, "Who is it?"

"You'll see." He quickly kissed me again and then he was gone.

I ran up to the front door anxious to see who had run my future husband off. I walked in the door, "Dad?"

"Hey Bella. Look who I found down at La Push."

My heart sank. There he was my best friend and the second love of my life, Jacob Black.

CHAPTER THREE


	2. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

He was sitting on the couch when I walked in. He stood and our eyes locked. I wasn't sure what to say to him. The awkward silence between us must have been too much for Charlie.

"I'll leave you two alone." He said as he walked up the stairs.

For a moment neither of us needed words. We just stood there in our staring contest. My first instinct was to hit him for leaving me, my other was to hug him and tell him I missed him. I chose the latter. I rush to him and wrapped my arms around his muscular frame. He embraced me in and whispered, "I missed you Bella."

A few minutes passed and we broke our clutch on one another. Sitting on the couch, he told me about his time away.

"I just had to get away for a while," he started, "I hope you can understand."

'I totally understand. I just wish that you would have let me, and your dad, know that you were okay."

"I'd planned to, but I spent most of time in my other form. You know it's a little hard to dial a phone or write a post card with paws." We laughed.

"Where did you go?"

"I just ran down the coast. All the way down to Mexico. You should have seen it, Bells, it was beautiful. I woke up on the beach with the sun and the waves. It was awesome."

"Aaaah, yes, the sun, my old friend." Living in Forks, rain capital of the world, I'd forgotten what a true sunny day was like. We were lucky to have partly cloudy day here.

"Maybe we could go back. So you can see it before…"

"Before I become one of them?" I asked knowing where the conversation was going.

"How is the old bloodsucker, anyways?"

"You know his name, Jacob and he's wonderful."

"So, you're still going through with it?" He gave me his infamous disapproving look.

"Yeah. The wedding is actually four weeks from today."

He grimaced. "That's great Bella."

"Really?! You're not going to lecture me about how I'm making the wrong decision?"

"I'm out of ideas, Bella. You know how I feel about your decision. But I've had a lot of time to think about it all and I can't live your life for you, even though it might be smarter if you let me." He smiled, "Like you said before you can't help who you fall in love with."

I wasn't sure what to say to him. I finally felt like my best friend was back. "Thank you for understanding." I hugged him. "Now, enough about me tell me more about your sabbatical."

"Well there's not much else to tell. I pretty much just ran. I actually met a few others like me. They were wanders. Which, I guess, for a while so was I. They had a good laugh, when I told them the girl I fell in love with was in love with a vampire."

"I see. Small talk at my expense."

He chuckled. "There is one other thing that I wanted to let you know."

"Oh yeah?"

"I met her, Bella."

"Her?"

"You know. _Her."_

My stomach fluttered. Back to my initial reaction, hit him or hug him?


	3. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"Her name is Sadie." Jacob told me.

The room was spinning. "Oh."

"Bella, I think you will really like her. I met her in California. "

"Oh."

"Bella. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm really happy for you. It's just so sudden."

"You can't really control imprinting, Bella. She is here in La Push now. I can't wait for you to meet her. She's…" he went on.

I heard what he was saying, how pretty and smart and funny and blah, blah, blah. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that he was with her. I knew I was with Edward, but he was _my_ _Jacob._ I don't think I was prepared to share him.

"Bella… Earth to Bella." He waved his hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, I can't wait to meet her." I put on a smile.

"Great."

I looked at the clock. 2:30 a.m. "Hey, you better get back to your house guest. I really need to get to sleep. More wedding planning tomorrow, Alice is a real stickler."

Jacob stood up and brushed his dark hair from his face. "I will call you tomorrow. Maybe you can up to La Push after you finish and meet Sadie."

I cut his excitement short. "Maybe, I've got a busy day tomorrow."

The disappointment was all over his face. "Ok. Well, I'll talk to you later.

We hugged. "I really missed you Bella."

"I missed you, too. I will talk to you soon."

I walked him to the front door. He turned to look at me with his beautiful brown eyes. As I shut the door behind him, I turned and pressed my back to the door. I wiped a tear from my face and raced up the stairs to my bedroom. To my surprise, Edward was sitting on the bed, arms open. I raced to his embrace and buried my head in his shoulder. I managed to stop crying for a moment.

"You could have told me he imprinted." I said to Edward knowing that he'd read Jacob's thoughts before I came inside.

"I thought it w as something he needed to tell you."

"You're probably right. I don't know why I'm crying. It's not fair to you."

"Bella, it's not fair to anyone. I understand."

How did I get so lucky? Most guys would have been pissed if their fiancée was crying over another man.

"I just didn't expect him to move on so quickly. I really am happy for him and whatever her name is."

"Sadie." Edward reminded me.

"I know." Edward wiped the tears from my face and kissed my forehead.

"Try not to think about it anymore tonight. You need your sleep."

We lay back on my bed. I tried to silence my tears, but I knew Edward heard them fall. The moment was bittersweet. On one hand, I was hurt that Jacob had found someone else, on the other hand I was happy for him, because he'd found some to love and be loved in return the way he deserved. Before long, my tears stopped and I was fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 5

The next day, I couldn't think about anything but Sadie and Jacob. What was she like? Would she treat him right? Was she prettier than me? I rushed thru the day's activities with Alice, which included picking out flowers for the table center pieces and table cloths. By the time I got home, I couldn't even remember if we'd picked out white roses or white orchids. I knew it didn't matter because Alice would chose whichever she liked best. I walked in the door and immediately dialed Jacob's cell.

"Hello." He answered.

"Jacob, it's me Bella. I finished my errands early; I was wondering if Sadie and you would like to meet Edward and I for dinner?" I had to meet her.

"Sounds good, but that doesn't mean Edward will be having us for dinner does it?" He joked.

"Ha-ha, very funny. Meet us at the pizza place downtown in an hour." I hung up. Now all I had to do was convince Edward to join me on a double date with the wolves.

An hour later, after much begging and pleading, Edward and I walked in to the pizzeria. We were the first to arrive. We quickly found a booth and I snuggled in next to him. I'd be damned if Jacob and Sadie were going to be more lovey-dovey than us. I looked at Edward. He forced a smile to appease me.

"I hope they didn't change their minds." I said.

"Their almost here, I can smell dogs a mile away." He smirked.

"Please don't do that tonight. Can we please have a civilized dinner?"

"Anything for you, but if he starts it…" Edward balled his fist "I'm takin' him down."

We laughed. Ever since the night that Edward, Jacob and their families had protected me from Victoria and her clan of newborns, there was a new found respect between the wolves and the vampires. Not to say, that if it came down two it they would be at each other's throats, but it would take something major to put a riff in their peaceful treaty.

"Bella. Edward." Jacob walked up to our table.

"Jacob. Good to see you in one piece." Edward smiled.

I greeted Jacob and held my breath as Sadie emerged from behind him. She gracefully slid into the booth. "Hi, you must be Bella. Jacob has told me so many wonderful things about you."

I forced a smile and shook her hand. I could feel both Edward and Jacob's eyes on me. I gave her the once over. Her long blond hair and cherub like face, reminded me of Rosalie. The only difference between the two was that Sadie had beautifully tanned skin and bright blue eyes. She must be one of those bimbos that hang out at the beach all summer. I laughed to myself.

The silence was deafening. I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

"So, Jacob," Edward tried to start a conversation. "Where did the two of you meet?"

They both began to laugh. "It's a funny story." Jacob said.

"I'll bet." I snipped.

Sadie took Jacob's hand. "Jacob decided that he was going to try to surf one day. Let's just say, he got in a little over his head."

"Hey now," Jacob said playfully defensive, "I did pretty good for my first try."

"I saw him paddle out into a major swell and then he just disappeared."

"Sadie actually pulled me out of an undertow. I might not be sitting here if she hadn't."

They started into each other's eyes. "Like I would let anything happen to you."

Their attention turned to me when I made a vomiting noise under my breath. I felt Edward's hand tighten on my thigh.

"Sadie is my lifesaver and when she pulled me out of the water and our eyes met, I knew she was the girl for me." He kissed her forehead.

"Oh. That's kind of like the time I saved Edward from a band of all powerful vampires." I smiled knowing I'd won that contest. Century old vampires definitely trump weak ocean undertows.

Edward's eyes glared at me. "See you have more in common then you thought. You've both risked your lives for the men you love."

Jacob added in, "Good point Edward."

I bit my tongue the rest of the evening, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, but something about her just made me second guess everything she said. After three out of four us ate, we went our separate ways. Jacob and Sadie were obviously going to smother each other in dog slobber and sing each other's praises. My drive home was a little less pleasant. Edward hadn't said a word to me since we'd left the restaurant. He just drove home, faster than usual; with his hand gripping the wheel with a force I was sure would snap it in half. We pulled into the driveway of his house and he shut off the engine. Charlie thought I was staying with Alice and that Edward was on camping trip with Emmett. Edward got out of the car and started to walk towards the house.

"So that's how it's going to be?" I said as I got out of the car.

He looked at me. It was a look I'd never seen before. Edward Cullen was mad at me. He turned back around and took another step towards the house. "Not now Bella. Let's just go inside and go to bed."

I grabbed his statue like arm and turned him around with all I had. "You don't sleep. Just tell me what you're so mad about?"

His face was stone as he turned to me, "You Bella. You acted like a jerk tonight."

I was stunned. He'd never talked to me like that.

"You treated that poor girl like she was an idiot. And Jacob," his body stiffened, "he' supposed to be your best friend and you were so rude."

I took a step back.

"I've tried my best to be understanding, because I know you have a lot on your mind now." His voice rose, "But you acted like a spoiled brat tonight. I know you love me, but you can't have both of us. You need to accept the fact Jacob is happy and finally has what we have."

I couldn't move. I just stared at him in disbelief.

"You had your chance Bella. You chose me. I thought this… I, was what you wanted."

"You're right. I want you. I want to spend the rest of our lives together." I felt the water works coming on. "I'm sorry."

By this time I was bawling. Edward softened and walked towards me, arms open.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just frustrated because I thought it was over between the two of you."

We stood in the drive way. I was sure his entire family was watching us from the windows. "I know, I thought it was too. It's just when I saw him with her, all of the feeling came rushing back. I'm an awful person."

"You're not awful. You're human."

Standing there in Edward's arms, I knew I had to do everything I could to make it up to Jacob, Sadie and most importantly Edward.


	5. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6

I didn't sleep well that night, despite the fact that I was in Edward's arms. I kept replaying that night's events over in my mind. How could I act like such a jerk? Green was definitely not a good color on me. Before I knew it, the sun was up. I turned to look at Edward.

"I'm so sorry for how I acted last night. I can't believe I was such a bitch." I said looking into his golden eyes.

"Bella, I told you everything I felt last night. As far as I'm concerned things are fine between us. Now, you just need to make it up to Sadie and Jacob." He pressed his lips to mine. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"I don't deserve you."

"You're probably right. " He smirked.

I playfully slapped his rock hard chest. He rolled over a pinned my arms above my head. "You shouldn't start something you can't win."

"I see. The big strong vampire is going to beat up the helpless little human."

"You better watch it, or I'll have to ravish you right here."

"Promise?"

Edward looked into my eyes and brushed the hair out of my face. "You are definitely going to get me into trouble."

"What do you say, before I go and beg forgiveness from the other injured parties, you let me make it up to you?" I wrapped my hands around Edward's neck and pulled my face to his. "Let's see how much trouble I can really get you in." Our lips met. I pulled away long enough to outline his lips with my tongue, as I ran my fingers through his hair. He placed his arm around my back, grasped my waist and pulled me closer to him. This was definitely the way I wanted to wake up.

We heard and not on the door. "Hello… Bella." Alice called, "I need you to come down and okay this seating chart."

Edward and I pulled apart. "Nice timing Alice!" He shouted towards the door.

"No problem big brother." She shouted back. "I can hear what you're thinking about me Bella. That's not very nice." She added.

I rolled out from under him and jumped up to get changed. Edward fell back on the bed and threw his arms over his head. Before I headed downstairs, I leaned back on the bed and hovered above him.

"What do you say we pick this up tonight?" I asked Edward.

"It's a date." He gave me lingering goodbye kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." I replied as I trailed my hand down his body and head towards the door.

"You will definitely be the end of me Bella Swan." He said as I shut the door behind me. I smiled.

After two hours of seating arrangement negotiations with Alice, I headed down to La Push to face Jacob and Sadie.

I took a deep breath in as I approached front door of Billy and Jacob's home. Knock-knock.

After waiting for seemed like forever, the door finally opened. It was Sadie.

"Oh, hi…" I said, "Is Jacob home.

"Actually he just headed out with Seth to go fishing." Sadie replied.

I didn't know what to say to her. The silence was awkward. "Ok, I'll just come back later." I turned to head back to my truck.

"Hey, Bella, wanna take a walk?" I heard her call out.

I turned to face her, "Sure."

As we headed down a trail thru the woods, I couldn't help but wonder if she was going to kill me once we got out far enough that no one would hear me scream. I knew that wasn't the case; there is no way Alice would have let me come here today. We walked about twenty paces and I decided that it was now or never.

"Sadie," she turned too looked at me with her bright blue eyes, "I just want to let you know that I'm really sorry for how I acted last night."

"Don't worry about; I'm sure I would have been the same way if my best friend had brought home a total stranger."

"You are being too nice. I acted like a complete ass. I didn't even give you a chance."

She looked down at the ground and swept her hair behind her ear. "Really Bella, I'd already forgot about it."

"Can we just start over? I really think that we could be friends."

"I think that sounds great." She looked up at me. "Jacob has told me so many things about you, I feel like I already know you. He really does care about you a lot."

"Since you already know so much about me, why don't you tell me more about you? I'm sure that you are great, especially if Jacob imprinted on you." I smiled.

We continued to walk through the forest and Sadie told me about herself. "Well, my dad and I have always been wanders. My mom died when I was really little, so it's just been the two of us. We could never really decide on one place that was worth staying more then a couple months."

"Really? I live with my dad. My mom lives were her new husband on the other side of the continent."

"Well there's one thing we have in common."

"Don't forget that we both have saved the love of our lives from their untimely deaths." We laughed.

We continued on our walk. Sadie had actually lived a pretty fascinating live. She had been in almost every state in the US, plus Canada and Mexico. "I'm really excited about my future with Jacob; it's going to be really nice to have a home. I've loved traveling all over with my dad, but its different here in La Push, I feel like I have a new extended family." She said.

"I know exactly how you feel, I feel like Edward's family has adopted me right in." I was really enjoying my time with Sadie, she was amazing and I could tell that we were going to be great friends. I can't believe I was so rude to her before. Sadie was the perfect girl for Jacob. The girl I could never be.

I heard a weird gust of wind, rustle threw the trees. Sadie perked her head and smelled the air. "I don't think we are alone Bella."

"It's probably just Edward, coming to check up on me." We had walked so far that we had crossed over the boundary line that the Cullen's were not allowed to cross.

"I don't think so." She said as she began to transform right before my eyes.


	6. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 7

The wind pick up again. Suddenly, I was surrounded by two Volturi guards, Felix and Santiago. Aro was standing in front of me. A beautiful blond wolf was guarding my legs, with her teeth bare.

"Ms. Swan," Aro said, "I see you are still human. I'm going to blame that fact for your poor taste in company." He turned up his nose, referring to Sadie.

She growled.

"Edward and I will be getting married in less than four weeks. Then I will become immortal."

He brushed his hair out of my face and placed his around my chin squeezing my cheeks. "I think we've given you more than enough time, I suggest you move the wedding and transformation up a few weeks or I, and the rest of the Volturi can come back and finish off this entire clan of weaklings."

He started to squeeze my face hard; my feet were barely touching the ground. I heard Sadie growl again and she began to dart to my defense. Aro swept his hand down and knocked her across the way into a tree trunk. I heard her cry. Felix and Santiago rushed towards her.

"Stop! Please don't hurt her." I said. Aro lifted his hand towards the guards to stop them from tearing Sadie apart.

"I will move everything up."

He lowered me to the ground. "Good. You'll see how much better your life will be when you are one of us. You have one week. I'll be keeping a very close eye on you Bella." As fast as he was there, he was gone.

I rushed to Sadie's side. She had transformed back and was lying unconscious and naked. I grabbed her ripped t-shirt and covered her up "I'm sorry Sadie, I'll get you some help."

"Bella, are you okay?" Edward rushed to my side. Emmett and Jasper were right behind him.

"I'm fine, how did you…"

"Alice saw it. Apparently too late." He cut me off.

"Edward, she needs help." He picked Sadie up and rushed her to the house. Emmett swept me up and we followed.

Carlisle was waiting when we arrived. He began examining her wounds. I paced the room frantically. Edward ran to get Jacob.

Carlisle looked up at me, "She is going to be fine Bella. Wolves heal fast. Remember how badly Jacob looked after the fight with Victoria and the newborns."

"I know I just feel so bad. I've just really gotten to know her and I already put her in danger."

"You couldn't have known Bella. Alice didn't even see Aro until he was gone." Esme said wrapping her arms around me.

Jacob burst in the door and immediately to her side. "Sadie, I'm here."

She looked up at him and took his hand in hers. Edward stood next me. The scene reminded me of when Edward set by my side after James had nearly killed me.

"Let's leave them alone." Esme said.

We all walked into the other room, I bury my head in Edward's chest and began to sob. "Bella, I thought you said you were okay?"

"I am. I just feel so bad." I told him. "First I'm rude to her, and then I almost get her killed."

"She's going to be fine, in couple days she will be as good as new."

"I know." I looked up at him and he placed his icy lips to my forehead.

"What did Aro say to you Bella?" Edward asked as we walked into the living room, where the rest of the Cullen's had remained.

"He gave me a week to…" I looked at Edward, "change."

"What about the wedding?!" Alice said.

"I'm not ready to do that yet!" Edward replied.

"We don't really have a choice." I reminded them, "its change me or they come after all of us."

"Alice, we can still have a wedding, just not as elaborate." Secretly, I was thrilled for this.

"And Edward, you can do this. I trust you. We are just going to start our forever a little sooner then we'd anticipated."

Rosalie spoke up, "We need to just be thankful that Aro didn't hurt Bella now. We can handle the rest." I was shocked that she was actually worried about me. I relationship had been getting better, but I felt like she cared about me.

"Yeah," Emmett said flexing, "unless they want a fight."

"It's not going to come to that, Emmett." Esme calmed him.

"I think we just need a day to think about all of this." Carlisle said. "Like Rosalie said, we can handle this."

"Bella," I heard Jacob call from the other room.

I excused myself and went into check on him. Sadie already looked better. "Bella, thank you for taking care of Sadie for me."

"I should be thanking Sadie; she was protecting me from Aro."

Sadie smiled, "You'd have done the same for me."

"I'm glad to see that you two are getting along so well," Jacob said, "But next time you want to bond, stick to shopping or watching a movie. Something that doesn't involve bloodshed."

Sadie and I looked at each other, "What's the fun in that?" she said.

We laughed.

"Sadie told me about the ultimatum that he gave you. If there is a fight, you know that the pack and I are behind you." Jacob reassured me.

"Thanks, but I've caused enough damage to your family. I think we are just going to move our plans up a little."

"Whatever you decide, I'm behind you."

"Thank you," I threw my arms around his neck. As I sat there hugging Jacob, I realized how real it was all becoming. In one week, I would be married, have to say goodbye to my parents and friends and I would be reborn a vampire. Suddenly, I felt the floor move out from under me.


	7. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Bella…wake up." I heard the sweetest voice say. It was Edward. He was cradling me in his arms and I was surrounded by an entire family of onlookers. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Are you okay?" Alice asked.

""Yeah, I just got a little lightheaded." I stood up. Edward was watching me carefully to make sure I didn't go back down.

"One minute you were hugging me and the next you were on the floor." Jacob said with concern.

"We leave her alone with a dog and look what happens." Emmett snapped.

Jacob gave him a nasty look.

"Not now." Edward said. "We have more important things to focus on."

"I think I'm just overwhelmed by this whole situation." I said to them. "I wasn't expecting to have to rush the two biggest events of my life."

"It's getting late," Carlisle said, "why don't you go home and get some rest Bella. We can discuss all of this tomorrow."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep." I said as Edward wrapped his arms around me.

"Sadie needs to get some rest too." Esme said, "Jacob, you're more than welcome to stay here with her."

"Thanks." He said.

We all said our good nights. Edward and I headed to my house. I'm sure Charlie would be wondering where I was. When we got to the front door, Edward kissed my cheek and said, "I'll see you in a few minutes."

I went in, "Dad, I'm home."

"Hey sweetie," he greeted me. "How was your slumber party?"

"I'm too old for slumber parties dad." I smiled at him. I couldn't imagine saying goodbye to him in a week. I had to think of another option. "I'm gonna head to bed."

"Good night Bella."

I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around him. I could tell he was surprised, we defiantly were not a hugging family. He was tense for a moment, but soon he embraced me and rested his chin on my head. There in his arms, I felt a since of security, even though I knew my dad couldn't protect me from what lie ahead, for a moment it felt like he could. "I love you kid. I'm really going to miss you when you move out."

"Me too, dad."

Edward was waiting for me upstairs. I changed into my pajamas and curled up next to him in bed.

"I'm not sure if I can handle all of this pressure, Edward."

"I'll go to Aro, maybe he'll listen to me and we can work something out. We need more time."

"We can't. He'll kill you or worse, he'll make you stay with him. You know he wants you to join his regime and use your abilities."

"What else can we do, Bella? Our wedding day was supposed to be perfect. I feel like he is taking that away from you, from us."

I knew that Edward was excited about the wedding. It was his one request of me, before he would agree to change me. We lay in silence for the rest of the night. I could tell that Edward was overwhelmed by the situation because he wasn't faking breaths. He was in deep concentration.


	8. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

The next morning, I awoke with a new sense of determination. I was going to get through all of this. Being with Edward was all I wanted and now, by the end of the week, I was going to be with him forever.

Edward had left already. Charlie must have woken up early again. I looked around for my usual note of affection. His mind must have been somewhere else, because he'd forgotten to leave one.

Quickly got ready and headed downstairs. Charlie had already left for work. I head over to the Cullen's. When I walked inside, Alice was frantically pacing the floor with a clipboard in hand. Rosalie was helping her by re-evaluating the invitation list. "Morning Bella," she said, "Your wedding planner has us all hard at work."

"I see that. Thank you so much for helping."

"No problem, you will be family soon, Bella."

I smiled.

Alice put her phone and clipboard down for a moment, "Bella, the wedding is totally under control. You have nothing to worry about."

"You're right. I don't. I trust you completely." I told her.

"You look much calmer than yesterday." She noted.

"I feel pretty good about all of this, Alice. This morning I woke up and I realize, in one week I'm going to have everything I've ever wanted. Sure it's a little sooner than planned, but it is all going to work out."

"Good." She said, resuming her previous stance with her phone and clipboard.

I walked into the other room where Sadie was recuperating. "Good morning Sadie, you look much better today."

"So do you." She said. "I'm going to head back to La Push today. Jacob ran home to get me some clothes." She was wearing a nightgown that Esme had given her.

"I can't believe how fast you've recovered."

"I know, right, perks of being supernatural." She waved her hands mocking herself.

I laughed, "Soon we both will be."

"Ahhh, yes the impending _change_."

"Speaking of that, have you seen Edward this morning?" I asked her.

"He came in early, but I didn't really get a chance to talk to him. He looked like he had a lot on his mind."

"I'm back." Jacob entered the room with a backpack for Sadie.

"Good morning," I chimed at him.

"You're chipper this morning." He replied as he leaned to kiss Sadie hello.

"You're right. I am. I'll give you to a moment." I walked back into the other room.

"Rose, do you know where Edward is this morning?"

"Yeah, Alice sent him, Jasper and Emmett into the city to get their new tuxedos."

"I see."

The day went on and everyone did their parts. Jacob and Sadie headed back to La Push. I promised to call them both if we needed anything. There hadn't been even a mention of Aro, the Volturi or my becoming a vampire, that was until Edward and his brothers returned. Shortly after, Carlisle asked all of us to take a seat in the kitchen.

"It looks like the wedding part of this plan is going off without a hitch." He directed his attention to Alice.

"Thank you." She confidently replied.

"However, I feel that I must voice my concerns about Edward changing Bella." His tone changed.

"Carlisle, you promised. You said…" I started in.

"I know what I said, Bella, but I feel like maybe we are missing something."

Edward stood, "I feel the same way, there has to be some reason that Aro is so anxious for you to change."

"Exactly." Carlisle agreed.

"I'm sure you are both over thinking this." I said to them. "He probably just doesn't want me running around carrying your secret as a human. I'm sure he thinks that once I'm a vampire, I will protect his kind."

"He knows that you are not going to tell anyone our secret, Bella." Edward shot down my theory. "I think that he has some information about you changing that we don't have."

"Alice?" Carlisle asked.

"I can't see anything about Aro or about Bella changing." She said with a frustrated look.

"Well, no matter what his reason, we are doing this in a week," I stood with my hands on the table, "I'm not going to let the Volturi come back here and hurt any of you. So, whatever it is, we will deal with it after I am changed."

After a few more minutes of discussion, I decided it was time to go home and talk to Charlie about the rush on the wedding. Edward drove my truck as I sat next to him. "I'll bet he's definitely going to think I'm pregnant now."

Edward chuckled, "Probably. I think we should tell him that we would like to have some time to travel before we head off to Dartmoth."

Dartmoth… we hadn't talked about that in a while. Our plan was to change me right before college was scheduled to start, so that Charlie wouldn't be suspicious of my absence as I got used to thirsting for blood. "Yeah, that sounds pretty reasonable."

When we walked in the front door, Charlie was setting the table for dinner. "Hey kids, hungry?"

We sat around the table, Edward told his usual story about eating at home. I filled my plate with delivered pizza, which was Charlie's specialty. "So, how was your day?" He asked us.

"Actually, dad, we've got some news about the wedding. It's actually going to be on Saturday."

He looked puzzled for a moment. "It's not what you are thinking sir," Edward reassured him, "Bella and I have decided that we would like to travel a bit before college and we decided to move the wedding up to give us more time."

Charlie nodded his head in agreement, "I see. Well, I can understand. I think it be great for you two to get to see the world a little before you head off to college."

Edward and I looked at each other surprised at how easy it was to convince him of our new plan. The rest of the week pretty much went the same way. Renee was a little worried about us being able to get everything done on time, so she hopped the next flight to Forks. Phil would join on her on Saturday. Charlie had offered to let her stay with us, so for a few days I had my mom and dad together again under one roof, which was nice.

Alice had been hard at work with the wedding. I hadn't had to lift a finger. Edward and Carlisle had been racking their brains trying to figure out what Aro's rush was. They hadn't come up with anything yet. By Friday, everyone was ready for a much needed break. Alice insisted that Edward and I not see each other before the wedding, so she arranged for the Cullen men to take a hunting trip, and the Cullen women, my mother and I to have a girls' night in bachelorette party.

"Alice, I just want say what a wonderful job you've done with all of the plans that you've made for the wedding, Bella is lucky to have you." My mother said raising her glass. Alice had arranged everything for tonight, including strawberries and champagne. "She is also very lucky to be joining such a wonderful family."

"That's very kind of you, Renee." Esme added with a smile.

"Yes, thank you Renee, we are lucky to be gaining Bella to our family." Rosalie added. I really like this new side of her.

"I can't wait for her to be my sister." Alice said as she wrapped her arms around me.

A few hours later, after we played a few tacky bachelorette party games, my mom head home. Phil was waiting with my dad for her to get back. Charlie and Phil had spent the evening bowling. I'm sure that was really interesting.

"Honey," my mom said as I walked her to the door, "I'm so happy for you. You're lucky to have found the love of your life at such a young age." She hugged me. "Get some sleep tonight. You've got a big day ahead of you.

"I'll try mom, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bella," Alice said as I shut the door behind my mother. "Edward's left something for you upstairs. Follow me." She took my hand and guided me up the stairs. She took me to the bathroom. There basked in candle light, was a beautiful claw foot tube, filled to the brim with steaming water and bubbles. The smell of lavender and vanilla was palpable.

"Oh," I gasp, "How did he…"

Alice finished my sentence, "Well we may have helped a bit."

Rosalie appeared with a book of matches in her hand, "Edward wanted you to have a nice relaxing night before the wedding."

"Thank you so much, this looks like something out of a movie." I hugged them both.

"We'll leave you alone now. Enjoy."

Alice and Rosalie shut the door behind them. I ran my hand down the length of the marble counter top to a basket containing a plush towel, robe and slippers and a note that read:

_My dearest Bella, I hope this will help and relieve a little bit of the stress. I'm so lucky to have found you and I can't wait for you to be my wife. You are my everything, now and forever. I'll see you tomorrow. All my love, Edward._

I could feel myself blushing. I was marrying the most perfect immortal man in the world. As I settled in to the most luxurious bath I'd ever taken, I could feel any doubt or fear I had about my situation disappear. I raised my hand up to admire my engagement ring. I had always thought it was beautiful, but now for the first time, I felt truly excited to be wearing it. I was getting married to Edward Cullen and we were going to be together forever.


	9. Chapter 10

Chapter 8

Chapter 10

The next morning, Alice woke me from a perfect slumber, "Are you ready?" She asked.

I sat up in bed without a care in the world, "Yes."

The rest of the day was spent having Rosalie perfect my hair and make-up. Normally, I would have been hoping that she could make me look like her, but in this moment, I was perfectly pleased with just being me. Esme and my mother checked in occasionally to make sure that I hadn't pulled a runaway bride before they headed back down to help Alice with all the final touches.

By the time I saw the sun starting to set, I could feel my stomach fill with butterflies. The wedding was scheduled to start promptly at sundown. I was beginning to get a little nervous about having 200, or however many people Alice had invited, staring at me. I had to remind myself that this was just about Edward and me. I couldn't believe we'd made it a whole night without seeing each other. Since Edward had returned from his time away last year, we hadn't been left each other's side, except for his hunting trips of course.

As I stood in front of the full length mirror, in my gorgeous designer dress, Alice, Rosalie and our mother's worked on buttoning up the back of the dress and adjusting everything until it was just right. They all took a step back.

"Oh Bella," my mother started to cry, "You look so beautiful."

"You really do." Esme added. I could tell that she would have shed a few tears too, if she could have.

"We'll see you out there Bella." Alice said hugging me once more. The four of them left the room.

I looked at myself again. It was hard to believe, especially for me, but I really did feel beautiful. The strapless white satin and lace gown fit me perfectly, all the way down to the elegant train that Alice had insisted that I get.

I heard a knock on the door, Charlie stuck his head in, "It's time Bells, their ready for you."

I gathered up the dress, so that I could walk, and turned to join him.

"You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen." His chin quivered.

"Thanks dad." I wiped a tear from his cheek. "You don't look to shabby yourself."

He straightened his tie and offered me his arm, "Shall we?"

As we headed down the stairs and to the backyard, I felt the air leave my lungs. Extending from the back door out into the garden, hundreds of candles and a magically lit aisle lined with only about fifty or so chairs, all filled with my closest friends and family, waited for me.

"It's pretty amazing, huh?" My dad leaned in a whispered in my ear.

"I can't believe it. It's perfect." I said as I locked eyes with Edward. "It's beyond perfect."

As Charlie and I started to walk down the aisle, I heard an all too familiar song start play. It was my lullaby, the one that Edward had written especially for me. I smiled at him. I didn't even notice the guests whose eyes were locked on me or worry about tripping. I just kept looking at my finance. He looked absolutely amazing in his sleek black tuxedo. I saw Emmett, who was standing up with Edward, along with Jasper, lean in and whisper something in his ear. He nodded his head in agreement with whatever he was saying.

When we reached the end, the minister, asked "Who gives this woman to be married today?"

I broke my stare with Edward and looked at my father, "Her mother and I do." He said. "I love you Bella." He placed my hand in Edward's and patted him on the back. "Take care of my girl."

"I will, sir." Edward replied.

I turned to hand my bouquet of all red flowers to Alice, who was serving as my maid of honor. She and Rosalie smile at me in their matching black dresses. The rest of the ceremony was kind of a blur. I remember saying "I do" and having a sense of elation come over me when Edward did the same. He was mine, I was his. Then the minister announced, "I now pronounce you husband and wife." Then there was the kiss, our first kiss as man and wife and it was a good one.

The small audience stood and applauded as we made our way back down the aisle and under the tent for our reception. Alice had continued the candlelight theme and each of the round tables was covered with a white table cloth and an amazing centerpiece of all white flowers.

Edward turned to me, "I love you, Mrs. Cullen."

That sounds amazing coming off of his lips. "I love you too." I replied as I leaned in for our second kiss as newlyweds.

We were quickly greeted by our guests. Charlie, Renee and Phil were the first to hug and congratulate us, followed by Esme and Carlisle. Emmett quickly hugged us both, not wanting to appear to emotional. Jasper followed, but kept his congrats short and sweet. I was excited about the day when we would be able to be closer, without him being tempted to eat me.

"Hey sis!" Alice said, hugging me harder then I think she realized.

"Alice, everything is so beautiful! I can't believe it." I said gasping for breath.

She released her grip, "I figured this was probably more your style."

'It really is beautiful," Edward added hugging his little sister.

"Thanks… now I've got to make sure everything runs smoothly here." She added as she went back to her post as wedding planner.

"Congratulations." Rosalie said hugging us both. "I'm really happy that you two found each other."

Sadie and Jacob were the next in line, "Maybe our wedding can be next." Sadie said as they greeted us both.

"Hey now," Jacob said, "Just because we are at a wedding doesn't mean you need to start getting any ideas." He wrapped his arm around her and they went to their table. "Save me a dance, Bella." He said to me with a wink.

"Definitely."

The rest of the guest made their way through the receiving line. Including, Seth, Sue, Billy and few others from La Push; Angela, Ben, Jessica, Mike and his parents, who'd been my employers for a little while and finally, the Denali Clan. Alice must have invited them to keep the vampire to human ratio equal. My skin crawled a little when Tanya hugged Edward. She was more beautiful than I'd imagined. "Congratulations, Bella, you're a lucky girl." She said as she continued through. "I know, the luckiest." I said tightening my grip around my husband.

We had our first dance. I danced with my dad, who cried the entire time. Tears of joy he assured me. Edward had pretended to eat the cake that I fed him. Before I knew it, the night was winding down and our guest were all heading home.

"What about my dance?" I heard a familiar voice.

"But of course." I said to Jacob taking his hand and following him to floor. We began to sway to the music.

"Thank you for coming, Jacob, it really means a lot to me."

"Are you kidding, I wouldn't have missed this for the world. You look beautiful tonight."

"Thanks." I blushed.

"Oh, and thanks for throwing Sadie the bouquet." He gave me a stern face, "Now she won't shut up us getting married."

I smiled. "It really was accidental. You know I have horrible aim."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"You two really do seem perfect together. I can see that you really love each other."

"Yeah, I do love her. I want to get married, too. Just not tomorrow." He smiled, "she's ready to head to Vegas tonight."

"Some girls just can't go to weddings without getting all into it."

He laughed. I heard the music near its end. "Bella, I really do want you to be happy. Just remember, if Dracula screws it up, I'm always here for you. You are my best friend."

I felt the tears coming on. "Thank you Jacob," I said as I hugged him tightly, "I love you."

"You too, Bells. I hope you have a great life." He said. "I wanted to say that just in case things get weird after… you know… and we don't see each other again."

"You're not getting rid of me that easy. I could never forget you. Like you said, we're best friends."

We broke our grasp on each other and he headed back to Sadie.

I headed off the dance floor over to the few people that were remaining, mostly my family, both old and new. I hugged them all and thanked them for a beautiful day.

My parent's kissed me good bye and wished us a happy honeymoon. Honeymoon… I'd almost forgot about it in all my wedded bliss, tonight was the night. _The night._

"Are you ready to go?" Edward asked taking my hand.

"As ready as I'll ever be."


	10. Chapter 11 & 12

Chapter 11

Edward had arranged for us to stay at a cabin near the lake for the night. We didn't have much time to enjoy each other. In order to meet Aro's demands, I had to be a vampire by Tuesday, which meant we got Saturday and Sunday for our honeymoon and on Monday we would return to the house where Carlisle and Edward would begin preparing me for my transformation.

During the short car ride, neither of us said much. Our hands were interlocked, but were both thinking about what was going to happen when we reached our destination. I could tell that Edward was nervous; probably mostly because he was scared he was going to hurt me. I was nervous because for the first time, he was going to see me at my most vulnerable.

"Were almost there." He said raising my hand up with his and kissing it gently.

I smiled back at him and took a deep breath.

"If you're nervous, we don't have to…"

I cut him off, "Are you kidding. This is happening."

He laughed and raided his eyebrow giving me a seductive smile.

We pulled up the lane and Edward cut the engine. The fairytale cabin was perfect. He quickly grabbed the overnight bag Alice had packed for us and ran it inside. Before I could even get out of the car, Edward swept me up and carried me over the threshold. Inside the one room cabin, candles were lit and rose petals were strewn about the large white linen covered bed. Edward set me down gently and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes," I turned to face him, "It's amazing." I kissed him. He began to kiss me back, his hands roaming up and down by body.

"Could you help me with the button?"

He quickly undid the buttons, which ran from the top to the bottom the dress, and placed his lips on my shoulder, neck and down my back. I held the dress up in the front. "Give me a minute to get into something more comfortable." I said. I couldn't believe those words had just come out of my mouth. How cliché.

"Sure. I'll be waiting."

I grabbed the overnight bag and headed in to the bathroom. I slipped out of my dress and hung it up on the door. I stepped back to admire it for a minute. I turned my attention to the mirror and fidgeted with my hair. When I opened the bag, to see what kind of negligee Alice had packed for me, I was pleasantly surprised to find a simple, yet sexy, pink nightie. I was happy to see that Alice had really considered my tastes, instead of packing some leather and lace over the top sex kitten ensemble.

I changed into the nightie, brushed my teeth and put on some lipgloss. I took a deep breath and shrugged my shoulders. "Relax Bella." I told myself.

I made my way back to the main room. Edward was staring out the window. I crept up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He was startled, for once.

"I didn't hear you."

"I thought you had superhuman hearing?"

"I guess I've got a lot on my mind." He said turning to face me.

"Edward, I'll be fine. I trust you."

"I know. I don't know if I can trust myself."

"You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to." I leaned in and pressed my lips to his.

He back away. "Are you sure?"

"I've never wanted anything more." I took his hand in mine and lead him toward the bed.

"Let me." He said sweeping me up in his arms. I wrapped arms around his neck. We connected with a kiss as he carefully placed me on the bed.

"You have to tell me if I hurt you." He said breaking his mouth from mine.

"You won't." I reassured him. I took his face in my hands and pulled him back down to me. I felt his arms wrap around me, his hands wondering over my body through the silky nightgown, in one smooth motion he pulled me around until I was sitting on top him. I sat up and began to unbutton his starched white shirt to reveal his perfectly chiseled chest. I began kissing his collarbone and worked my way up his neck to his lips. Suddenly, I felt so in control and self confident. I resumed my position above him and pulled the nightie over my head, revealing myself to him. I wrapped my arms around my chest as my modesty returned.

"Bella, you are so beautiful." He uttered as his eyes roamed up and down my body. He pulled me down to him. He began to kiss me more passionately than he'd ever done before. I felt myself body go limp. I felt like we were floating. Somehow, Edward had worked his way to the top. He was in total control now. Our eyes connected for a brief moment. His appeared to be glowing. His lips were wondering down my body.

"Edward…" I muttered. "I need you."

He pulled his face back to mine, "I'm yours, Bella Cullen."

In an instant, we were connected in a way I had only dreamed about. I felt my body shutter in delight.

"Bella, are you okay?" Edward said as are bodies moved as one.

"I'm fine." I kissed him, "Please don't stop."

He didn't. He continued on, like the perfect rhythm of a song, Edward and I continued our perfect wedding day long into the night.

CHAPTER 12

Edward and I had spent the entire night consummating what we both already knew was perfect. When the sun finally rose, we took a much needed break.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I've never been better." I replied pulling his arms tighter around me. "I love you so much. Last night was perfect."

"You should probably get some rest." He said.

"I know, big day tomorrow." I said yawning. Within minutes, I was asleep in my husband's arms.

Eight hours later, after the sun had rose and sat on the day, I was surprised to find myself alone when I woke up. I sat up in bed and surveyed the room. "Edward?"

"I'm right here." He said resuming his place next to me on the bed with a serving tray in hand. "Tonight is you last supper as a human. I wanted it to be special." He laid the tray on my lap. Edward has made me a beautiful meal that included all of my favorites. I began to taste it all. I really did need something to eat. I was starving after our night long session together.

"Edward," I said between bites of food, "is it going to hurt?"

"Probably a little. Carlisle said he thinks that morphine should help with that."

"I hope so."

"You'll be fine. It will be over before you know it."

"I just hope I feel like me after it's done."

"I'll make sure you know who you are Bella." He wiped my mouth. I must have had food on my lips.

"I know you will." I kissed his lips and playfully bit his bottom lip. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with reminders Edward's body from before. "Do you think we could…"

"I think we should." He said. He quickly threw the serving tray to the floor and we picked up where we had left off this morning. This time was different than before. Edward was less focused on controlling his instincts and more focused on pleasing me. I heard him growl and his teeth clinch. The pleasure far outweighed the pain. I arched my back to be closer to him and our lips collided. I tongues met and began to compete for control.

I had to take a breath. "Ohhhh."

I felt him begin to pull away. It must have been too much for him to handle. "Bella, I can't. I want you too much."

I felt like I was invincible and I began to plead with Edward. "Please, just do it now."

"I can't."

I latched my hands behind his neck and began to work my lips up to his ear and whispered between pants for air, "Take me Edward." I angled my head revealing my neck to him. "I'm yours. Make this forever."

Suddenly, a side I have never seen before came out of him. It was almost animalistic, but I wasn't scared. I was so euphoric, that I couldn't wait for him to sink his teeth into me. The thought of pain was the furthest thing from my mind. He grabbed my wrists and slammed my arms above my head. His eyes appeared a little darker than before. He crashed his lips into mine. As he held my arms up with one hand, his other wrapped behind my head and around my neck. He broke our kiss and quickly pulled my neck to his lips. My body cringed in excitement as he sunk his teeth in and then, darkness.


	11. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 - Edward

I felt a sense of elation as her blood began to course through my body. I had been waiting years, and couldn't have even imagined how her sweet and satisfying it was. For a moment, I'd forgotten what I had done and then reality came back when I saw her body begin to writhe in pain.

I pulled my mouth from her neck, revealing a hideous wound. "Oh my god. What have I done?"

I cradled her in my arms and pulled her to my chest. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I…" I began to panic.

I began to run with her, the love of my life, in my arms. I had to get her to Carlisle. Hopefully, it wasn't too late and he could help alleviate her pain. I rushed through the trees of the forest, taking the shortest route I could find. When I reach the house, I burst through the doors and rushed her to the room Carlisle was preparing for her, for tomorrow.

"Carlisle! Help!' I shouted.

"Edward, what is..." He stopped when he saw her with the mortal neck wound. He immediately began to try and get an IV into her arm. He tried three times, all of which resulted in a broken needle.

"Your venom has already begun to work, her skin is too tough." He looked up at me.

"There had to be something we can do." I said to him. By this time, my entire family was looking on.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"It's all my fault. I told her it wasn't a good idea."

"Edward you didn't know." Esme said placing her arms on my shoulders. I quickly shrugged them off. I was a monster and deserved to be treated like one.

"I'm afraid that Bella is going to have to do this on her own." Carlisle said.

I took her hand in mine and placed my lips to her forehead. Her lips were pursed together and then she began to scream.

"Get out." I said to them. "I don't want anyone to see her like this."

They all left the room quickly.

"Bella, I'm so sorry. I love you so much." I felt the illusion of a tear roll down my cheek. I couldn't believe that I had given into my temptation. This should never have happened. Throughout the night, her body convulsed and her screams sent chills down my spine. It was the worst night of my life and it continued for two days. Carlisle had finally convinced me to let him stay with us in the room. He placed a heart monitor on her. Slowly the beats began to slow and finally, they stopped.

A rush of fear came over me. I've killed her, it must have been too much for her to handle. My sweet Bella was gone. Carlisle and I sat for what seemed like forever.

"Give it a minute, Edward." He must have seen the panic on my face.

And then, her eyes open. The chocolate brown eyes that I had fallen in love with were gone. Now, they were as black as night. She stared at us blankly for a moment. First it was a look of confusion, then fear.

She leaped up from the table. "Where am I? What have you done to me?"

"Bella. It's me. Edward."

"Give her some space son. This is all new to her."

She had back herself into the corner. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Her skin was glowing and her hair seemed to be a shade darker than before. It looked like onyx. Her lips were the color of rubies and they began to quiver. She defiantly still looked like my beautiful Bella, but more radiant than I could have possibly imagined.

I ignored his plea and reached out to her. "Bella. Look at me."

Her eyes settled on mine for a moment and then she rushed into my arms with enough force to knock me over. Her strength was mesmerizing. We fell to the ground and I strengthened my grip around her. We just lay there in silence.

"Edward," she spoke softly, "am I?"

"Yes." I replied. We stood up. Her grip didn't break from mine. "Are you in pain?"

She held her hands and arms out and looked at them in amazement. "No. I feel incredible. Strong."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"Vaguely. I remember…" she looked at Carlisle with a look of humility and then back at me, "you know, and then everything went blank. The next thing I remember is waking up here."

"Oh thank god." I said burying my head in her shoulder. "I was so scared. I can't believe I hurt you."

She pulled away to look in my eyes, "Hurt me? Edward you gave me a gift and a chance to be with you for eternity."

"It shouldn't have happened that way though."

"It happened in a way that was perfect." She ran her hand down my cheek. "You're skin is warm."

"No. Yours is just cold now. So we feel the same."

She smiled. I placed my hands on both sides of her face and pulled her to me. Her mouth met mine and we shared our first no holds barred kiss, neither of us worrying about the other. Unfortunately, it was cut short.

"Let us get a look at her." Emmett said as he pranced in the room, followed by the others.

"She's not a spectacle." I said giving him a discerning look.

"Edward, its fine." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Not so breakable now, huh?"

He began laughing.

"Bella. You look amazing." Rosalie said.

Alice rushed up and took her in arms. "I'm so glad you are okay."

"I'm great." Bella replied.

I watched them gush over her. She was amazing.

After Carlisle and Esme joyfully hugged her, she looked around for a moment like she had lost something. Before she could even ask, Jasper rushed up, wrapped his arms around her and swung her around. She placed her head on his shoulder.

"Sorry," he said putting her down, "I've been waiting a while to do that."

We all laughed.

"I hate to break up the party," she said walking back over to me and placing her arms around my waist, "but this girl is hungry."


	12. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 14

I took a moment to admire my new self in the full length mirror. Only two days ago, I was preparing for my wedding day using the same mirror to view my wedding dress. This time it was very different. I'd decided to change into something that was a little more appropriate for hunting. My pink silk nightie, that Edward had rushed me home through the wilderness in, wasn't going to cut it. I pulled on my favorite pair of blue jeans, the same pair that I had received as a sixteenth birthday present from my dad. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they actually fit better. It must have been my new immortal body, but I appeared to have curves in all the right places.

"Damn Bella." I said aloud to myself while smoothing my hands over my rear.

I completed the look with a Dartmoth hooded sweatshirt that Edward had given me when I received my acceptance letter. It had always been in his plan for me to attend college, but now since I was a vampire, I figured it could wait. I mean, I have forever to be a college student, right?

I pulled my hair away from my face and stepped closer to the mirror. I'd always been fair complected, but now my pale white skin was almost see through. My eyes were a little disarming. Not the brown I was used to, now they were black. I cringed a little, knowing what I had to do to make the black disappear. I was going to have to take a living thing's life. I knew I might as well get used to it if I was going to live forever with Edward.

I took one more look at myself and headed out onto the balcony, where Edward, Jasper and Emmett were waiting for me. Edward insisted that his brothers join us, just in case I had a newborn freak out and he couldn't control my himself.

"Ready?" Jasper said to me.

"I guess. How am I supposed to know what to do?" I asked.

Emmett started laughing hysterically.

"Stop that," Edward scolded him, "it's a valid question."

"What?" I was a little confused.

"Don't worry," Edward placed his hands on my shoulders, "your instincts will kick in."

"Sorry Bella." Emmett said. "I forgot you're a newborn."

"I may be a newborn, but don't forget I'm stronger than you, Em." I sarcastically replied.

Emmett gulped. I saw Jasper and Edward smile at each other, followed by an outbreak of laughter.

"You're going to have your hands full with her, Edward." Jasper said.

"I don't mind." He said wrapping his arms around me. He placed a kiss gently on my forehead.

"Let's get moving, before badass Bella beats me up." Emmett said.

I turned to walk off the balcony to head downstairs and out the door.

"Hey." I heard Edward say, "This way." He pointed over the balcony railing.

"Huh?"

"Trust me."

Emmett and Jasper playfully flipped over the rail and landed perfectly safe on the ground below. Edward stood up on the rail and turned around the face me.

"See ya down below." He winked and then did a reverse swan dive to join the others.

I took a deep breath and climbed up on the rail. I saw the three of them staring up at me.

"Come on badass." Emmett taunted.

I took another unnecessary breath and stepped off the edge. I felt myself falling through the air. It was like I was moving in slow motion. I gracefully placed my two feet on the ground and gave Emmett and smirk.

"Good job babe." Edward took my hand in his.

I smiled. As we walked into the forest, I felt unstoppable. A cool evening breeze began to blow. The way that it whipped through my hair and across my face was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was like all of my senses were a hundred times more sensitive. I could hear noises that I'd never heard before. The crickets chirps were magnified and I swore I could hear frogs from ten miles away. Then, there was a new sensation. I caught a whiff of something I'd never smelled before. It was blood and it was close. I lifted my head up and took a deep breath through my nose. It smelled amazing. Edward placed his arm in front of me and raised one finger to his lips and pointed the other towards the clearing in front of us. I immediately crouched down. He was right about the instincts. Thirty yards from where I was crouched in stalking mode, was a deer. Normally, I would have swooned over how cute and cuddly it was, but now I wanted nothing more than to rip it's furry little head off and ease my hunger pangs. Edward gave me a nod, telling me to go and get it. I sprung into action. My feet had never moved so quickly and in one swift blow I tackled the defenseless creature. As I slammed it to the ground I heard its neck crack and its body go limp. I began tearing into the fur and flesh. I had to get to its veins. My teeth had become like razors. I buried my face within the open wound I'd created and lapped up the blood. The sweet sensation of it made me want more. I stood over my first kill and scanned between the trees. Another one was waiting for me. I didn't even check to see where the boys were, I just darted after it and repeated my devouring process. By my fifth one, Edward pulled me up and wiped the blood from my cheek.

"Had enough?" He asked with a smile.

"I'm sorry," I looked down at the dead animal at my feet, "did you want some?"

He laughed. Emmett and Jasper joined us.

"Nice work," Emmett said patting me on the back, "it took Rosalie and couple tries to catch her first."

I didn't say anything; I just smiled with a sense of pride. I couldn't believe that I was better than Rosalie at anything.

We began our walk back to the house. I stopped for a moment and pulled Edward to me.

"Are my eyes," I opened them wide, "better?"

"Yes, they look like butterscotch."

I was relieved to know that the black was gone, at least for a while. "Good. Race ya?"

I didn't even give him a chance to answer. I took off, faster than I had before. Edward shouted at Jasper and Emmett and the three of them, tried to catch me, but it was near impossible. I beat them back to the house by at least five seconds. This new power was incredible and, now that I wasn't hungry, there was something else I wanted to try with it.


	13. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

I took a moment to admire my new self in the full length mirror. Only two days ago, I was preparing for my wedding day using the same mirror to view my wedding dress. This time it was very different. I'd decided to change into something that was a little more appropriate for hunting. My pink silk nightie, that Edward had rushed me home through the wilderness in, wasn't going to cut it. I pulled on my favorite pair of blue jeans, the same pair that I had received as a sixteenth birthday present from my dad. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they actually fit better. It must have been my new immortal body, but I appeared to have curves in all the right places.

"Damn Bella." I said aloud to myself while smoothing my hands over my rear.

I completed the look with a Dartmoth hooded sweatshirt that Edward had given me when I received my acceptance letter. It had always been in his plan for me to attend college, but now since I was a vampire, I figured it could wait. I mean, I have forever to be a college student, right?

I pulled my hair away from my face and stepped closer to the mirror. I'd always been fair complected, but now my pale white skin was almost see through. My eyes were a little disarming. Not the brown I was used to, now they were black. I cringed a little, knowing what I had to do to make the black disappear. I was going to have to take a living thing's life. I knew I might as well get used to it if I was going to live forever with Edward.

I took one more look at myself and headed out onto the balcony, where Edward, Jasper and Emmett were waiting for me. Edward insisted that his brothers join us, just in case I had a newborn freak out and he couldn't control my himself.

"Ready?" Jasper said to me.

"I guess. How am I supposed to know what to do?" I asked.

Emmett started laughing hysterically.

"Stop that," Edward scolded him, "it's a valid question."

"What?" I was a little confused.

"Don't worry," Edward placed his hands on my shoulders, "your instincts will kick in."

"Sorry Bella." Emmett said. "I forgot you're a newborn."

"I may be a newborn, but don't forget I'm stronger than you, Em." I sarcastically replied.

Emmett gulped. I saw Jasper and Edward smile at each other, followed by an outbreak of laughter.

"You're going to have your hands full with her, Edward." Jasper said.

"I don't mind." He said wrapping his arms around me. He placed a kiss gently on my forehead.

"Let's get moving, before badass Bella beats me up." Emmett said.

I turned to walk off the balcony to head downstairs and out the door.

"Hey." I heard Edward say, "This way." He pointed over the balcony railing.

"Huh?"

"Trust me."

Emmett and Jasper playfully flipped over the rail and landed perfectly safe on the ground below. Edward stood up on the rail and turned around the face me.

"See ya down below." He winked and then did a reverse swan dive to join the others.

I took a deep breath and climbed up on the rail. I saw the three of them staring up at me.

"Come on badass." Emmett taunted.

I took another unnecessary breath and stepped off the edge. I felt myself falling through the air. It was like I was moving in slow motion. I gracefully placed my two feet on the ground and gave Emmett and smirk.

"Good job babe." Edward took my hand in his.

I smiled. As we walked into the forest, I felt unstoppable. A cool evening breeze began to blow. The way that it whipped through my hair and across my face was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was like all of my senses were a hundred times more sensitive. I could hear noises that I'd never heard before. The crickets chirps were magnified and I swore I could hear frogs from ten miles away. Then, there was a new sensation. I caught a whiff of something I'd never smelled before. It was blood and it was close. I lifted my head up and took a deep breath through my nose. It smelled amazing. Edward placed his arm in front of me and raised one finger to his lips and pointed the other towards the clearing in front of us. I immediately crouched down. He was right about the instincts. Thirty yards from where I was crouched in stalking mode, was a deer. Normally, I would have swooned over how cute and cuddly it was, but now I wanted nothing more than to rip it's furry little head off and ease my hunger pangs. Edward gave me a nod, telling me to go and get it. I sprung into action. My feet had never moved so quickly and in one swift blow I tackled the defenseless creature. As I slammed it to the ground I heard its neck crack and its body go limp. I began tearing into the fur and flesh. I had to get to its veins. My teeth had become like razors. I buried my face within the open wound I'd created and lapped up the blood. The sweet sensation of it made me want more. I stood over my first kill and scanned between the trees. Another one was waiting for me. I didn't even check to see where the boys were, I just darted after it and repeated my devouring process. By my fifth one, Edward pulled me up and wiped the blood from my cheek.

"Had enough?" He asked with a smile.

"I'm sorry," I looked down at the dead animal at my feet, "did you want some?"

He laughed. Emmett and Jasper joined us.

"Nice work," Emmett said patting me on the back, "it took Rosalie and couple tries to catch her first."

I didn't say anything; I just smiled with a sense of pride. I couldn't believe that I was better than Rosalie at anything.

We began our walk back to the house. I stopped for a moment and pulled Edward to me.

"Are my eyes," I opened them wide, "better?"

"Yes, they look like butterscotch."

I was relieved to know that the black was gone, at least for a while. "Good. Race ya?"

I didn't even give him a chance to answer. I took off, faster than I had before. Edward shouted at Jasper and Emmett and the three of them, tried to catch me, but it was near impossible. I beat them back to the house by at least five seconds. This new power was incredible and, now that I wasn't hungry, there was something else I wanted to try with it.

When Edward finally joined me back at the house, I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house.

"Let's go upstairs." I demanded.

Emmett and Jasper looked at each other. "Guess they don't want to hang out with us anymore." Emmett said.

"Sorry guys," Edward said following me, "see ya later."

As soon as we reached the bedroom, I threw my arms around his neck and pulled his lips to mine. His mouth tasted incredible, almost as sweet as the blood I'd just gorged myself on. I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for Edward to keep from killing me when I was human. I don't know if I could have been that strong. I started to back towards the bed. I was so happy that Edward had gone against my wishes and bought one. It was going to be very useful.

He pulled away, "Slow down, we have all the time in the world."

I couldn't stop myself from wanting him and he couldn't either, I was stronger than him. I put my hands on his shoulder and started to turn him towards me, "We don't have to slow down, you can't hurt me now."

He smirked, "You're right." He quickly picked me up and directed my legs around his waist.

Our mouths locked. It was like we had never kissed before. I couldn't get enough. He backed me up against the wall and began to run his mouth up and down my neck. The sensation of his tongue was so different. It was warm and enticing. He lowered me to the ground and stepped back.

"You are amazing Bella Cullen."

I started to unbutton his shirt, it was taking too long, I grabbed both sides of his shirt and with a simple tug tore it from his body. "Oops." I coyly smiled.

He grabbed my sweatshirt and within seconds had it in shreds on the floor, "You started it."

Normally I would have been mortified just standing there in my bra, but this time I felt no shame. I actually felt beautiful, even a little bit sexy. "Edward, don't start something you can finished." I ran my fingers through his hair and flicked his lips with my tongue.

"Oh, I can definitely finish it." He pushed me to the bed and lowered himself over me. He began to kiss me and he wasn't holding back at all. My lacy white bra was off as quickly as my shirt, only he didn't destroy it, he hung it over the headboard, "I like the way you look in that one." He smiled.

Our bodies were yearning for one another and we couldn't keep our hands to ourselves. Every time he touched me, I needed him to do it again and again. When we finally connected, I felt the earth moving, literally, the floors and walls began to shake. We paused for a moment and both started to laugh.

"I think we'll have to take it down a notch." He didn't stop. We just tried to be a little less destructive.

It seemed like we were only together for minutes, but when we finally decided to take a break, hours had past. We didn't get out of bed, we just lay together and I nuzzled my way into the crook of his neck.

"That was amazing." I said as I trailed my fingers up and down his chest.

"Better than before?" He asked.

"Both were great, this was just different."

"Yeah."

"I'm so happy that I get to spend the rest of time doing things like that with you."

"Me too, I've waited a long time for you Bella." He said kissing my forehead and running his hand down my back.

We lay in silence for a moment.

Through all my elasion, reality started to run through my mind. "Edward," I asked, "how am I going to keep this from Charlie. I'm worried he will get suspicious."

"Don't worry, we'll deal with it when we have to. Alice has a huge stash of postcards from all over, so for now we will stick to our story that we are traveling."

"Yeah, but what about when I do have to see him, what if I try and kill…"

Edward stopped me, "don't even think that. Remember what you told me on our wedding night, you said, you couldn't hurt me if you tried. The same is true with Charlie, and Renee for that matter. You love them, they are your parents, and you couldn't hurt them even if you wanted to."

"You're right." I smiled, "When I do have to see them, I will be fine. Plus, we have at least ten years before they notice, I'm not aging."

"Yeah, you can just tell them that you have an amazing skin care regimen."

We both started laughing. Our fun was cut short, when the window suddenly flew open. A gust of wind sent the curtains flying wildly. Edward sat up and pulled me in behind him. I tugged the sheet up to my chest and sat in close to him. Standing in front of us was Aro.


	14. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

"I see you had no problems with your transformation."

"What do you want?" Edward asked pulling his lips back to reveal his teeth.

"I came to wish the two of you all the best with your new nuptials of course," he turned his attention to me, "and to talk to Bella about something."

"What could we possibly have to talk about?" I glared at him.

"I'll give you two a moment to make yourselves more presentable. Bella, meet me in the garden…alone." He was gone in a flash.

Edward and I stood up and started to get dressed. The morning sun was just starting to make its way through the trees outside. We heard a crack of thunder, followed by a flash of lighting. A storm was definitely brewing.

"I'm coming with you." Edward said.

"You can't. I have to go alone, you heard him." I pulled on my pants.

"You're crazy if you think I'm letting him be _alone_ with you."

"This is not a negotiation, Edward. I'm not putting you in danger. He's not going to hurt me."

"You don't know that."

"If he wanted me dead, he would have already done it."

Edward continued to argue with me as we made our way down the stairs. In his haste, he didn't even take the time to button his shirt. The rest of the family was waiting. Jasper stood in the middle of the room, trying to calm everyone down. Emmett had his fist balled and was pacing the living room.

"Just let me handle him." He said.

"I don't think so." Rosalie said in a controlling voice.

"I want you all to stay here." I told them firmly. "I have to go out there alone. He isn't going to do anything to me, unless he is provoked. So sit tight." I grabbed a jacket from the coat stand.

"She's right." Carlisle said, "Let's let her handle this, if she needs our help, we will rush out there."

I headed out the door to the garden. The rain had begun to fall quite heavily. I pulled hood up and rushed through the downpour. I could feel all seven sets of their eyes watching me from the windows. I made my way under the archway that Alice had constructed for our wedding. The white roses and lights were still hanging on it, only now they were drenched and wilted from the rain. He was waiting for me.

"Good. They let you come alone." Aro said pulling his hooded cape down.

"Can we make this quick." I placed my hands on my hips, "What do you want?"

"Bella, I've come to offer you a position in the Volturi."

"Why would you want me? I don't have any special powers."

"Well my dear, that's not entirely true. You see there's a reason that Alice hasn't been able to see your future recently and why Edward has never been able to read your mind."

It suddenly all made sense. Aro was awaiting my change so that he could use me for some sort of work horse. He was going to make me use a power that I didn't even know I had.

"Your mind is more powerful than you and we think you would make a fine asset to our family."

"I already have a family here. I'm not going to leave them."

"I was afraid you might say that, so here is my counter offer. You either come with me on your own free will or I will attack everyone you hold dear to you. Starting with you dear father. Charlie is his name, right?" He walked around me, flipping my hair with his hand and speaking closely in to my ear. "And then I will move on to your mother and her baseball playing husband, followed by each and every one of your animal blood drinking family."

I could feel my fist ball up in a fit of rage.

"I'll save the best for last though. I will take your dear husband and torture him right in front of you for all of eternity. It would be too easy to kill him."

My stomach did a flip and my voice quivered as if was actually going to cry. "I won't let you hurt him."

"All you have to do is tell your beloved Edward and the rest of these outcasts, that you've come to your senses and you've decided to live as a true vampire."

"They would never believe you," I looked him in the eyes, "besides, I don't even know how to use the so-called power you say I have."

"We will teach your how to hone your craft, dear Bella. We don't have much time, I suggest that you run along and work up a convincing story for your miscreant family. I don't them plotting some rescue and following us. You have thirty minutes."

"I can't do this." I pleaded with him.

"You're coming with me one way or another. I'm offering you a way to safe them Bella. Now go."

I turned from him and started to walk towards the house. What was I going to tell them? There was no way that they would ever believe that I chose to leave them. I made my way through the door and was bombarded by questions. I kept moving and started up the staircase.

"What did he want?" Edward was the first.

"Tell us Bella." Alice followed.

"Is he gone?" Rosalie added.

I pursed my lips, wanting to tell them all how much I loved them, but instead, I decided to lie. "Look, all he did was make me see the light." I turned to face them all from the fourth stair. "I've decided to join Aro and live how we were intended to live. I'm returning to Italy with him to join the Volturi."

"She's lost it." Emmett said throwing his hands up into the air.

"Bella? Did he do something to you?" Edward spoke with concerned eyes.

"No, he's just offered me something that I can't get here living as a fake. We were made to kill humans, not live on animals. It's absurd to think that anyone could live like this." I started to pour it on, I had to convince them that I really wanted to leave. "Personally, I think you all are weak."

Emse and Carlisle studied me but did not say anything. Jasper closed his eyes and began to pace.

"What are you talking about Bella! We are your family." Alice said.

Edward just stood in shock for a moment and then reached out to me. "Stop this Bella, you don't mean it."

Now, for me came the hardest part, I jerked my hand from his, "Don't touch me. You are the worst of all. Falling in love with a human, how pathetic! I was only using you to gain immortality. I don't love you." I turned and rushed up the stairs to grab my things.

He was right behind me. He grabbed my arm and whipped me around to face him. He stared into my eyes.

"What are you doing? Let me go." I pulled myself free.

"He must have put some kind of curse on you. This is not you talking."

"Of course it is. Aro has offered me more than you could ever. I'm leaving and there is nothing you can do to stop me." I closed up my suitcase and headed out the door.

"Bella, please don't leave me." He called to me, "I love you."

I closed my eyes for a moment, wanting to rush into his arms and tell him the same, but I couldn't. "Get over yourself Edward. You really are pathetic." I slammed the door behind me. He didn't follow me, I think he was in a state of shock. I knew deep down that there was no way he would believe me, but he didn't come after me. Had I really convinced his that I didn't love him?

When I walked back down the stairs, I knew I had to face the rest of the family. I put on my best game face and headed out. Each of them had a look of shock on their face. Alice was the last one I saw. I connected eyes with her and for a moment lapsed on my acting job, but only for a second. I placed my hand on the door knob and turned to deliver and finishing blow. I couldn't have them trying to follow me. "I can't believe I actually considered living here with you poor pathetic creatures. Have a nice life." I slammed my second door of the evening and head out to where Aro was waiting for me. As I was just about to enter his car, I turned and looked at my home. I had to go. It was for their own good.


	15. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

The trip to Italy was a quiet one. Aro had rushed me to the airport where the Volturi's private jet was waiting to take us back to their estate. They knew how to travel in style, I'd give them that. The shiny black jet was equipped with leather interior, sophisticated mood lighting, a pilot and two Volturi guards. The same two who had attacked Sadie and me in the forest, Felix and Santiago. Aro had tried his best to get me to open up to him, but I decided the silent treatment was the best way to let him know how I'd felt about his ultimatum. I couldn't quit thinking about walking out on my family and most of all Edward. I couldn't stop picturing his face when I'd told him I didn't love him, which was obviously a lie. I was really impressed with my performance because lying was not something that I excelled at. The fact that the entire Cullen family had believed me made me feel that a rescue was not going to happen. I knew I was going to have to get myself out of this one. I'd hoped that by keeping quiet, they would see that I was not going to be a productive member of their community and they would let me go. Pretty far fetched, huh?

"We will be landing in fifteen minutes." The pilot said over the loud speaker.

"Were almost home." Aro said fastening seat belt, which was ironic seeing as how he would walk away from a plane crash.

"Home?! I don't think so." I finally decided to speak to him, "You ripped me away from my home, remember?"

"Now, now, Bella. You will see that Volterra is a beautiful place."

I rolled my eyes at him.

Once we hit the ground, it seemed like only seconds until we arrived at the same place where I had stopped Edward from revealing himself to a square full of humans when he thought I was dead. The memories came flooding back to me. As we walked through the tunnel and just before we reached the office entrance that I had been in before, Aro directed me into an elevator that seemed to go up 3 or 4 stories. When the doors finally opened we entered into a foyer with a brilliant marble staircase. The floor was lined with beautiful limestone tiles. The walls were covered in the most beautiful gold fabric I'd ever seen, it looked like actual gold bars were melted down and somehow pressed into a fabric. A crystal chandelier was hanging from the pitched ceiling.

"Gianna?" Aro called out.

Gianna, the Volturi's human assistant came running into the foyer. "Yes Aro." She said to him. She had become their servant in the hopes of becoming a vampire herself, however, they hadn't changed her yet, so I doubt it was ever going to happen.

"You remember Bella?" He held his hand out in my direction.

"Yes. Welcome back." Gianna said.

I nodded my head at her. I could see her eyes burning into me. She knew I'd been changed.

"Will you please take our new member up to her room." He looked at me. "Jane will be up to see you shortly to begin your training."

"Whatever." I said picking up my suitcase and following Gianna up the stairs. I heard the door shut behind us and knew Aro was gone. As I followed her up the stairs, I suddenly realized that I was alone with a human. Gianna was the first human that I'd seen since becoming a vampire. The smell of her blood started to make its way through my nose and it was intoxicating. My body wanted to attack her from behind and take the very essence that was toying with me for myself, but my mind told me otherwise. I wasn't a monster and as much as I wanted to taste human blood, I didn't.

She stopped at the third door and opened it, "This is your room." She directed me in. As I walked past her and entered into the room, I could see the blood coursing through her jugular vein. I shook the notion off and continued in. The room was exquisite. It look like a five star hotel room, complete with a king sized bed with four huge oak posters and it was covered in what I was sure was the finest linens in Italy. I dropped my suitcase and threw myself on the bed.

"Thanks." I smugly said to Gianna.

"You're welcome Ms. Swan." She replied and turned to leave.

"It's Mrs. Cullen. I am married to Edward now, the same Edward that your employer ripped me away from to be here." I shouted back at her.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cullen. You'll see that they Volturi aren't as bad as they seem."

"I'm sure." I said covered in sarcasm.

She lingered at the door. "Can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"How long have you been a vampire?"

"Only a couple of days."

She looked surprised. "How then… why didn't you attack me?"

I sat up on the edge of the bed. "I thought about it. You're the first human I've been around. I'm not a monster though. I don't want to be like one of them, preying on a innocent person."

"Your control is amazing. I think that Aro was betting on you attacking me. That's why he left us alone together."

"Well, I guess he is just going to have to try some other way to convince me that I belong here."

"Could you? I mean, I'm sure you would like to taste human blood and I'm desperate to become like you."

Her offer was very hard to turn down. She turned and left with a very disappointed look on her face when I turned her down. I knew the next time I saw her it would be a different story because I would be hungrier than I already was. I tossed and turned on the bed. All I could think about was my beautiful husband and how I was never going to see him again. I got out of bed and walked over to one of the four floor length windows, my room was positioned above ground, unlike the tunnel that we traveled down to get here. I pulled back the heavy window treatment and the sunlight started to filter in. I could see the city below. It really was an amazing site.

"I suggest you close that window before someone sees you." I heard a familiar voice behind me. It was Jane.

I quickly pulled the curtains shut and turned to face her.

"Are you ready to start your training?" She seemed much more pleasant than the last time I'd seen her.

"Do I have a choice." I said, resuming my position on the bed.

She sat down next me. "Have you figured anything out about your power Bella?"

"Nope. I don't even think I have one." I lay back and put my hands behind my head.

"Well then, I can see this is going to be productive." She stood and started to walk out of the room.

As much as I wanted her to leave, I sat up. "Jane wait, exactly what power do you think I have?" M y curiosity was strong.

She smiled and turned back around. "You Bella, are capable of blocking your thoughts, which you already know, like you did from Edward, and you can keep your future to yourself as well, which is why Alice couldn't see anything about you after you became a vampire."

"Huh." I said.

"It's more that that Bella. You can also project your blocking on to others. For example, if you were in a room with a reader you could shield everyone else in the room with you from being a target. Who knows, you may have more capabilities that that. Aro is sure that you are very powerful."

Everything that Jane was saying made perfect sense. Edward and I had always wondered why he couldn't see my thoughts and things had become particularly frustrating for Alice as of late. I decided that I was going to let Jane train me how to use my powers and then I was going to use them to escape from this awful place.


	16. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

The next two weeks went by much faster than I'd expected. Jane had been working tirelessly with me to hone my skills. She was surprised to see how fast I'd been able to learn to control and manipulate my skills. Aro, Caisus and Marcus had asked for me to give them a showing of what I'd learned to do. When I did, they were amazed. I began by blocking Jane from reading my thoughts and followed that by blocking their thoughts from her as well. In my final act, I disarmed the rest of the mind reading and fortune seeing Volturi in the room. I stood in the center of a completely powerless room. I considered running out the door and never looking back, but I knew if I did that a war would begin that would end in everyone I loved being killed. I wasn't strong enough, so far, I could only control my skills for seconds, and I needed minutes.

"Your gift is amazing Bella." Aro called out from behind the huge wooden table that he and his brothers were sitting behind.

"Truly." Caisus agreed.

I didn't say anything to them. I simply finished my display of talent and headed out of the room.

"Bella," Aro's voice boomed behind me, "you are to report to me in four days, when I return from my next trip. By then, you should have complete control of your powers. You will traveling with me from now on."

I knew he was planning on using me as a shield for himself. It was exactly why he'd been the one to come after me in Forks. I turned to him with a glare. "Fine."

I went back to my room and watched the moon rise out my window. I knew that meant the sun was rising over Edward. I paced the room frantically. My frustration and hunger were growing. I'd managed to hunt a few small animals one evening when Jane and I were out practicing my skills. I was in no way full, I could see it in my eyes. I decided that it was time to gain an ally in this house. I waited for darkness and silence to take over the town and made my way down the hallway to Gianna's room. I slipped through her door, undetected by her. She was sleeping peacefully.

I hovered above her. "Gianna." I whispered.

She opened her eyes, but wasn't startled. "Bella? What are you doing here?'" She sat up.

"I came to make you a deal."

Her eyes filled with excitement. "Really?" She knew what I was implying.

"Yes, I will give you what you want, if you promise to help me escape from this place."

"Escape? Bella, they will kill you."

"I'd rather be dead, then help them doing anything."

She thought for a moment about what I was offering her. "Okay. I'll do what I can. Just please make me a vampire now."

I knew with my abilities I could keep Gianna's transformation a secret until it was completed. Gianna lay back on the bed and nodded her head at me. "I'm ready Bella."

I took in a deep breath, her blood was calling out to me. I reminded myself that I needed to control my urges and only taste a little. My venom had to mix with her blood to successfully turn her. I took her hand in mine and brought her wrist to my mouth. I could feel my lips parting and my teeth inching closer to her skin. When I latched on to her flesh, she let out a moan, not of pain but of excitement. As my teeth pressed into her, the sudden rush of her life force began to flow into my mouth and across my tongue. It took everything I had to pull myself away from her. I quickly stood up from the bed and watched her agony begin. I imagined that this is what I looked like to Edward when I was changing. Gianna's body started to convulse, I held her down. She never screamed. Just whimpered from the pain.

For the next two days, I sat by her side and convinced the rest of the Volturi that she was ill from food poisoning. Luckily, I was able to block any of her thoughts from them, so they went along with it. When she was finally through the storm, she sat up and immediately wrapped her arms around me.

"Thank you Bella. I feel amazing."

"You're welcome. Now, you have to help me."

"Anything." She stared at herself in the mirror. Her physical change was minimal because she was already a knockout, but mentally she appeared stronger. I thought to myself that this would be good research for Carlisle, it seems that if someone chooses to become a vampire, their mentality is much stronger than those who do not choose it.

"First let's get something for you to eat." We headed down into the tunnels. As we crept along silently, we finally found a cluster of rats in a dark corner. Gianna immediately dove into them. I managed to steal couple. I imagined a human catching us. I laughed to myself when I thought of them seeing two beautiful girls eating rats in a sewer tunnel.

"What have you done!" I heard a booming voice echo from the other end of the dark tunnel.

Gianna and I quickly huddled together to face whom ever it was.

"You were supposed to kill her. Not turn her." It was Marcus. "My brother would be very disappointed in you Bella. He thought that you were stronger than that."

"It's not like that Marcus. It would have been fair to kill her after all of the hard work she had done for the Volturi."

"We never turned her, because she is too weak to be a vampire. Her mind is not strong enough to handle the power."

"Yes she is. Look at her. She is strong." I pointed at Gianna. "Please let her live. I take full responsibility for her."

He thought to himself for a moment. "Fine. You can keep your little friend, but the second that she starts to show any sign of weakness," He pointed his finger in my face, "It's on you."


	17. Chapter 19

_CHAPTER 19_

_Marcus was right about one thing, Aro was pissed when he discovered what I done. After an hour long lecture, that even Charlie couldn't touch, he informed me that I would now be responsible for all of the chores that Gianna had been in charge of and he made me totally responsible for watching after her and making sure that she didn't do anything that could reveal the Volturi._

_Two weeks had past since I'd changed Gianna and I was starting to understand their concern. Apparently, vampires have a very strict set of requirements for recruits. The human mind can become easily compromised by the power of vampire venom. Gianna's mind was a prime example. Her physical strength was unparallel, but her mental strength left a lot to be desired. At first she seemed completely fine, but as time past the power did become to much for her to handle. She seemed to be easily distracted from even the simplest of tasks. Her thirst for human blood was also extreme. Public outings were not an option. Which was fine by me, because I still couldn't bring myself to hunt humans, instead we took advantage of the Volturi's arrangement with the local blood bank. They had refrigerators full of all types of human blood. Apparently, some vampires prefer the blood of Caucasians, some Asians, some Africans, and so on. I wasn't picky so I took just enough to sustain myself._

_Nighttime seemed to be the hardest for Gianna to maintain her composure. She had moved her things into my room, which made it easier for me to keep an eye on her. She would often dance about the room, humming to herself, as if she was alone. She seemed almost childlike in her actions. Amidst her entertainment, all I could do was imagine what Edward and the rest of my family were doing. Some nights I would envision them plotting to rescue me from Volterra, other nights I would see them carrying on with life as if I'd never existed. If only I was close enough to them to let them see my thoughts. Now that I could control my abilities, I knew I could project my love on to them, especially Edward._

_Aro, Marcus and Caisus had decided that this evening Gianna and I would be responsible for getting their banquet hall in order for a party._

"_What kind of party are they having her tonight?" I ask Gianna._

_She danced around me with a table clothe fluttering from hands, "It's their annual Masquerade Ball."_

"_A costume party," I continued to set the table I was working on, "aren't they a little old to being playing dress up?"_

_ust as I finished my sentence, the door flew open and Jane entered followed by a horde of servants carrying in the final pieces of the party décor. "It isn't just a costume party Bella. It's a celebration of the first vampires."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yes, each year we pay homage to the three founding members of the Volturi."_

"_So you're telling me that Aro, Marcus and Caisus throw a party for themselves and invite people to dress up and tell them how great they are?" My sarcasm was easily detected._

_She shrugged her shoulders and let down her standoffish guard, "Yeah, pretty much." We started to laugh and Gianna chuckled from across the room. I could tell that she was only laughing because we were. It felt good to laugh. It was probably the first time a month that I had let myself enjoy a moment._

"_I've arranged a costume for you and this one," she shot a glance at Gianna, "They are in your room."_

"_I don't really feel like attending a party." My joy was cut short._

"_Unfortunately, you don't have a choice." She returned to her busy work. She reminded me a bit of Alice as she shouted orders at the servants._

_Gianna and I made our way back to our quarters and found two renaissance style gowns waiting for us. Her's was a floor length navy colored velvet dress that resembled the night sky. The corset was laced up with a dainty rope that was made of spun gold._

"_What a pretty dress!" she exclaimed sauntering around the room holding it up to herself._

_Then I saw it. The bodice was the color of blood, which I didn't really mind, and was trimmed in black lace, it offered a plunging neckline and an off the shoulder finish. The overwhelming hoopskirt was black as well. I couldn't imagine myself wearing such a extravagant assemble, but I knew I didn't have a choice._

_It took of most of the afternoon to stuff ourselves into the skin tight corsets. Gianna helped me with my hair, which was piled in curls on top of my head. She had left hers down and it hung in beautiful spiral curls down her back. Before we headed downstairs to join the festivities, we each chose a mask from the selection that Jane had left us. Gianna quickly grabbed the gaudiest of the bunch complete with peacock feathers and tied it behind her head. I picked out a simple black lace piece adorned with tiny rhinestones that surrounded the eye holes. It matched my dress perfectly. I would never admit it to anyone, but I actually enjoyed getting dress up for the event, however, I would have much rather had different company for the evening. In my final walk past the mirror, I noticed something different about my eyes, there surround in lace, were crimson colored eyes. The human blood I had been drinking had taken the caramel color away and replaced with red._

_As I entered the Grand Hall, Gianna almost knocked me over trying to get to the dance floor, where the guests were performing what appeared to be a well choreographed Waltz across the floor. It was like stepping back in time. Everything was authentic, down the food that set uneaten on the table. Jane must have arranged the showing for pure ambience. The music that was being played reminded me of Edward. He was always playing old songs for me on the piano, something about broadening my tastes and appreciation of the arts._

'_You look lovely my dear." Aro said as he placed his hand on my bare shoulder._

"_Thank you." My skin crawled but I managed to muster up a smile._

"_Save me a dance." He said as he walked away._

_His advance was a little creepy, especially with his wife looking on from the head table where he positioned himself in a massive wooden chair. I managed to position myself in a location, near the staircase that was discreet enough to keep Aro from staring at me. I continued to watch the couples dancing in the center of the room and made small talk with the other guests. I started to get swept up in the music, swaying from side to side._

"_Would you care to dance?" I heard someone say from behind me. I could feel him exhale onto my neck. My immediate response was to turn around and attack him, but there was something familiar in his voice._

"_No thank you." I replied kindly and went back to studying the dancers._

"_Then might I tell you how ravishing your look in red." I felt his arms wrapped around my waist._

_I couldn't move. Suddenly I realized the familiarity. It was my husband. I wanted to turn around and devour him in kisses, but I knew that would drawn unwanted attention. I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear._

"_Perhaps, you would like to join me upstairs, away from the crowd." I caressed his hand with mine. He didn't answer, instead he just darted off._

_I excused myself from the room. I told Jane to let Aro and the others know that I had gone to freshen up and would be back momentarily. I jaunted up the staircase and thru a curtain into an empty room._

"_Edward?" I whispered. I couldn't see him, but I could feel his presence in the room. He quickly appeared in the moonlight that was shinning through the stained glass windows. The purple, green and blue glass made a kaleidoscope pattern on his perfect skin. He was wearing a black leather mask and I could see his golden eyes illuminating from underneath. I picked up the massive skirt I was wearing and ran into his arms. No words were spoken. Our lips collided and over a month's worth of passion came flooding out. He tasted exactly how I remembered. A taste that I was sure I'd never enjoy again. He arms pulled me in so tightly that my feet came up off the ground and I felt like I was floating. I was back where I belonged._

"_You came for me." I managed to get out between kisses._

_He stopped and pulled away for a moment, releasing his lips, but not his arms around my waist. "Of course I did. You are my wife. We can't live happily ever after if you are thousands of miles away." I managed to run my hands down his chiseled chest._

"_But I thought I'd--"_

_He chuckled. "You didn't think that you had actually convinced me that you didn't love me." He gently placed me back on the ground. "You're not that good of an actress."_

_I playfully smacked at him, "Then what the hell took you so long?"_

"_I had to wait for the perfect opportunity to infiltrate this place. I couldn't just burst in the door and sweep you up and out of here."_

_I placed my arms around his neck and pulled him into me. I didn't want to let him go._

"_How are you going to get me out of here? If they see you they will kill you."_

_He pulled me back and placed a hand on each side of my face, "then I will fight them for you." He pressed his lips into mine again. When he had finished he looked into my eyes with a puzzled look. "Your eyes?"_

_I dropped my head in shame, as if I were a child being scolded for eating cookies before dinner. "I know. There aren't many animals to hunt in here. I've been drinking human blood from a supply they have, but I didn't kill anyone."_

"_That's good." He smiled._

"_I may have changed Gianna into a vampire though." I quickly kissed his lips before he could utter a reply. The diversion didn't work. He pulled away and held my hands in his._

"_You may have?"_

"_Ok. I mean, I did change her into a vampire, but I needed an ally and that was the only way I was going to ensure that she was on my side."_

_He pressed his fingers into his temples and then pulled his hands together and rested them in front of his mouth. "I see."_

_Just then, I heard Gianna calling for me from outside the curtain. Edward quickly kissed me again. "I'll be waiting in your room."_

_I ran out to stop Gianna before she entered and saw Edward. I wasn't sure if I could trust her just yet._

"_Gianna," I greeted her "you called for me."_

"_Yes," she hadn't suspected a thing, "Aro has been asking for you."_

_We made our way down the stairs back to the party. "I met the most wonderful man downstairs, Bella."_

"_Good for you Gianna."_

"_I think he is going to take me with him when this is over. He lives in Spain and he thinks I'm beautiful." She gushed like a teenager._

_I had to convince her to go with him, so that Edward and I could be alone when I returned to our room. "That's really great. Do you think you could love him?"_

"_Sure. I could. He's lovely." She smiled._

_After a dance with Aro and an hour of me performing my mind blocking party tricks for the guests, I finally managed to escape back to my room. Gianna had left with her new suitor and I was very excited to get to be with mine._

"_I'm here." The lights were all off and I decided not to turn them on. I felt Edward creep up behind me and wrap his arms around my body. He lips began to navigate from one should to the other. He let his tongue linger on the nape of my neck long enough to send chills down my spine. He began to unlace my corset. I ran my hand up his neck and through his thick hair. When the corset finally fell to the ground. Edward placed his hands on my sides and gently moved his hands up to cup each of my breasts, he gently squeezed them and buried his face in my neck allowing his breath tickle my skin. I let a moan escape from my lips. His touch left me wanting much more. With a snap of his fingers in the waistband of my skirt, it was on the ground and I stepped out of it. I turned to him, both of us still wearing our masks from the party. "I've missed you so much."_

"_I know. Me too." He swept me up in his arms and at the same time placed a kiss on my wanting lips. He gracefully moved over to the bed and lowered me down. Our lips never parted as he hover above me. I started to unbutton his shirt and pulled myself up to kiss his bare chest. As he pulled the shirt from his body, I maneuvered myself to the top. I sat straddling him and he ran his hands up my back and threw my hair. I arched my back in pleasure. He removed the hair pin that was holding my curls in place, they quickly cascaded down and around my face._

"_You are so beautiful Bella." He said pulling me to him, "I love you."_

_I couldn't speak. All I could do was show him how much I'd missed him and how happy I was that he'd come to save me._


	18. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 20

I almost forgot where we were as I lay in Edward's arms. He pulled me in close to him. I took in a breath of him. I looked around the beautifully decorated room and remembered the Volturi. Lucky for us, I had managed to create a shield to keep them from seeing us together or reading our thoughts.

"I've missed this." I said tilting my head back to look at him.

He kissed my forehead. "Me too."

Suddenly, he jolted up out of the bed. He must have forgot where we were too.

"Someone's coming. We have to get out of here."

"Edward--" I got up and started to explain that I'd blocked the others from seeing us.

He didn't let me finish. "Bella…come on." He grabbed my clothes and threw them towards me. In his panicked state he didn't hear me. He quickly pulled his shirt over his head, the same shirt that he'd worn last night that fit him so perfectly and was made of a sheer enough linen to allow my imagination to run away from me. I could feel myself staring at him as his muscle contracted nervously.

"Edward--" He kept rushing around the room grabbing up his belongings. "Edward!"

"What! We have to go." He paused long enough to say in an harsh whisper.

"No we don't. No one knows you're here. I've kept them from seeing you."

He sat down on the bed with an obviously puzzled look on his face. "What do you mean you've blocked them?"

"Well… I have powers." I smiled and put my hands up showcasing myself to him. I walked over to stand between his straddled legs. I could tell that he was starting to calm down. His unnecessary breaths began to become more regular.

"Do you now?" Edward replied as he placed his hands on my hips.

"Yeah, I meant to tell you about them last night, but I kinda got caught up in the moment with you."

"I see. So Mrs. Cullen explain your abilities to me." He smiled as he pulled me down to the bed. As I was sitting there beside him, he held my hand in his.

"I didn't understand them at first, but Aro insisted that Jane train me how to use them. I haven't learned how to control them completely, but I have learned how to keep people from seeing my thoughts and those around me. So that's what I've done for us, no one can see your thoughts right now."

He pulled my hand up and placed his full lips to them. "I see. Can you do anything else?"

"Well, we've been working on projecting thoughts, but I haven't mastered that yet. I can transfer memories, and soon Jane thinks I'll be able to do emotions and will people to do certain actions." I knew he was going to ask me to show him. He'd only been waiting since we'd met to get inside my head so I closed my eyes and began to focus my thought towards him. I could tell that it was working because he squeezed my hand tighter in his and his lips began to curl up to reveal the crooked smile that I'd fallen in love with. He immediately pulled my face to his and took my mouth in his. I let my teeth linger on his bottom lip before he pulled back to tell me what he'd seen.

"Our wedding day." He kissed me again. "I could feel what you felt. I didn't think it was possible for you to love me as much as I loved you."

"Of course I do. I'm so happy I could show you."

"Bella, if you've got these amazing abilities, why haven't you tried to escape from this place yet?"

"I couldn't. Aro told me that he'd have everyone I love killed. I couldn't live with that."

"Well, I'm taking you out of here. Even if I have to kill each and everyone of them." He furrowed his brow in rage.

"Edward, we have to be smart about this." I tried to calm his anger.

"I know Bella, but you belong with me. Not here. I made a vow to you and we are going to be together until death do us part."

"I want to be with you too, but I can't stand the thought of anyone harming you or anyone else I love."

"Well, that's why we have a plan to get you out of here."

"Who's we?"

"Everyone you love."

I smiled at him. "Really?" The thought of my family coming to aid was something I thought about daily and now it had actually come to fruition.

"Yes. None of us believed your scheme. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett are set up just outside of town. Alice and Jasper are downtown in a hotel room with two of your furry friends that insisted they join the rescue."

'Jacob and Sadie?" My heart jumped at the thought of them risking their lives to save mine.

"Yes. Now, we have to get going if this plan is going to work and I think that with your powers, we can get out of this place unscathed." He stood up and pulled me up with him. We walked towards the door and he opened it and peeked his head around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. The empty hallway looked like the light at the end of the tunnel as we began our escape from the Volturi compound.


	19. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 21

As we made our way down the hallway hand in hand, I could hear the voices of Felix and Santiago in the foyer down below. We crept up to the balcony banister and peered down.

_Bella, now would be a good time to try willing them to leave._

I could feel Edward's thoughts as he stared into my eyes. I concentrated all of my energy on getting them to leave the room and it was as if a light bulb went off above their heads. At exactly the same time they both headed to the elevator and reached for the button to summon the cart. Edward smiled at me. I could see how proud he was to have me by his side. When the cost was clear, we headed down the staircase and Edward walked over the elevator and pulled the doors open to reveal the empty metal shaft. Felix and Santiago had went up to the next floor and it was at least thirty feet down to the bottom.

"Going down?" He smiled and directed me in with hand like a hotel doorman.

"Seriously? Down the shaft?"

"Yes. I'll see ya down there." He flashed a grin at me and jumped down. My stomach dropped. Even though I knew he was invincible it made me nervous when he did reckless things. I followed him. I would have followed him anywhere. When I hit the bottom of the shaft, I gracefully flipped my head back and smiled at him. He pulled the door open and we entered into the tunnel I'd been in too many times before only this time there were two familiar faces waiting for us in the darkness.

"Alice!" I rushed to put my arms around her. Jasper was grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm so glad you're here. I couldn't see you." She said hugging me back.

"Yeah about that," Edward said, "our little Bella has powers."

I raised my eyebrows up, smiled and shrugged.

"Really?" Alice released me and Jasper took his turn greeting me.

Our reunion was cut short when we heard a voices from the end of the tunnel. It was Aro and Jane. They'd figured it out.

"Bella!" Aro exclaimed. "I would advise you to return to your room immediately."

"We'll have to discuss them later." I said to her as we began to dash down the tunnel to the exit which was now being guarded by two goons. I could hear Aro and Jane getting closer and closer as we tried to hide in the darkness.

"Well, well" Aro approached us, "it looks like Bella has company."

"It looks like she's been using her power to keep us in the dark, sir." Jane said subserviently.

"It's too bad you're not strong enough to block me out." Aro directed his snide comment in my direction.

Edward pulled me in behind him and let out a deep growl from his chest. "I'm taking her back where she belongs."

"This is where she belongs, as a matter of fact, this is where you all belong." Aro looked at Jane and with a nod, Edward, Jasper, Alice and I were unconscious.

"Bella…Bella?" I heard Alice saying as she pulled me back from the trance that Jane had cast upon us. Edward, Jasper, Alice and I were in the grand hall, that was used just last night for the masquerade party, only now all the decorations were gone and the only thing that remained was the large wooded table. Jane was laying across the it with a smug look of success on her face.

"How could you Jane?" I asked her. "You know I don't belong here."

"It's not my decision to make." She replied in her nasally voice.

Four guards were also in the room manning each of the exits.

Alice was pacing the room. I could tell she was racking her brain to figure out an escape plan. Jasper was following her around the room ringing his hands together.

"Are you okay?" Edward wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Yes." I turned and buried my face in his chest. "I wished you'd never come here though."

"Don't say that Bella. We are going to get out of here." He pulled my chin up and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"How sweet." We were interrupted by Aro's entrance. "The newlyweds are back together."

"What a beautiful sight." Caius sarcastically remarked following his brother into the room along with Marcus.

"So it seems that we have quite a predicament here." Aro began placing his hands on the wooden table and leaning forward. "I'm going to allow you all to live, if you agree to stay here in Volterra."

"Never." Alice quickly responded. Jasper placed his hands on her shoulders reminding her to stay calm.

"Easy Alice. There is no need to get all worked up." Caius raised his hand to her.

"It really is your choice. Either work for us or die. You decide."

I pressed my fingers to my temples and contemplated how we were going to get out of this mess. "Aro, it's me you want. Let them go and I'll stay here with you."

"Absolutely not! None of us are staying here." Edward exclaimed tightening his grip on my hand. "I'd rather die."

"So be it." Aro darted at Edward and a fight began between the two of them. I could see Aro wrap his hand around Edward's throat and raise him off the ground. I called out, begging Aro to let him go. Suddenly to the door flew open and Emmett rushed at Aro like a linebacker. The force of his hit threw him into the stone wall which crumbled behind him. I stood there in the center of it all. Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle followed behind Emmett and the battle was on.

"It didn't have to be this way." Carlisle called to Aro as he and Emmett held him up to the wall.

Emmett added insult to injury. "You are a monster!" He hurled a punch at his stomach. Aro let out a groan.

"AAAhhhh." I heard Alice cry out in pain. I could see her bring both of her hands up to her head. It looked as if it could explode.

Jane was concentrating all her energy on Alice, who was doubled over, what she didn't see was Rosalie coming up behind her. The most beautiful girl I'd ever seen then placed her perfectly manicured hands on each side of Jane's face and, in what appeared to be one effortless motion, removed her head in a most gruesome act. Jane's body fell to the floor in a slump.

"I never really liked her anyway." Rosalie smirked as she threw her head to the floor.

Caius and Marcus had focused their efforts on Edward. As they approached him from each side, Jasper quickly slid in beside him. Their fist began to fly and soon the four of them were traveling in all directions of the room from the shear force that they all applied.

Emmett and Carlisle were about to rip Aro limb from limb when a group of guards attacked them.

As everyone fought, I could see that the Volturi far outnumbered us. I envision us winning this battle and closed my eyes tightly to channel my energy. I pictured the faces of everyone I loved, Alice, Esme, Carlisle, and the rest of the Cullen's faces flashed through my mind. Then…Edward. I could feel my skin crawling with an energy I'd never felt before. Suddenly, the power released from my body and I opened my eyes. I saw each one of my family members standing over the bodies of the Volturi members: Aro, Caius, Marcus and all of the guards..

"What happened?" I asked confused, but pleased.

"It was you Bella." Edward said walking towards me.

"It was like a flash of lightening and they all went down." Rosalie wiped her hands together.

"It was awesome." Emmett added.

"I can't believe I did this." I scratched my head. "I was thinking of how I wanted us all to get out of here safe and how much I hated them for doing this to our family."

"It was incredible Bella." Esme smiled.

"Yeah, we probably wouldn't have made it out of here." Edward kissed my forehead.

"Speaking of getting out of here, let's go home." Jasper said.

"First, we need to figure out what to do with all of the…you know." Esme stated.

"Dead vampires." Emmett finished her thought holding up a lighter and flicking it lit for everyone to see.

It was amazing to see such a beautiful structure on fire. The entire city came out to watch it burn. For the most part, the stone building would remain standing, but it was what was inside that was gone forever. The Volturi were not going to bother us again. Not only had my little mind storm wiped out everyone of them in the room, but the entire compound. We'd started the fire upstairs and worked our way back down the tunnel, burning every last one and making sure that a resurrection was impossible.

Jacob and Sadie had patiently waited for us, knowing that they were no match for the hoard of vampires. They arrived in two black SUV's, probably heisted by Alice, to pick us up as we came up out of the tunnel.

"Good to see you in one piece, Bella." Jacob said as Edward and I slid in the back seat.

"Thanks." I smiled. "Can you please get me home?"

"Sure thing." He said as we drove towards the airport. The thick black smoke faded in the distance and I hoped the memories of the Volturi would quickly disappear as well.


	20. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

When we arrived back in the states, I felt a sense of relief. Pulling up the familiar drive way of our family home made me think about the future I had with Edward and how amazing it was going to be. With everything that we'd been through it was nice not to have an eminent threat like the Volturi looming around. The car came to a halt and Edward quickly jumped out and ran around to open my door.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Cullen." He said taking my hand as I stepped onto the drive.

"Thank you, sir." I smiled. It was like a scene from a movie. The two of us surrounded by our family stood back and admired our home.

"It's good to be back." I tightened my arms around my husband's waist.

"Yes it is." Edward agreed. Everyone agreed with a smile and we continued towards the house.

"It's too bad we have to move in a few weeks." Jasper reminded us all.

I'd almost forgotten about going to college. It was something that I had been looking forward to before Aro kidnapped me. I smiled knowing that I would be with Edward, but it also meant saying good bye to Charlie for a while. Saying goodbye to my father meant that I would have to see him for the first time through my new eyes. It was the only way to keep him from learning the Cullen family secret.

Edward and I rushed up to our room where we both fell back on the bed. For the first time that we'd been in bed together as husband and wife, neither of us wanted to do anything besides lay together, instead both of us stared up at the vaulted ceiling. Edward held my hand, but that's as far as it went. We both had a lot on our minds.

"So… Dartmouth?" I broke he silence .

"Yeah. Are you sure you still want to go?"

"Of course. Besides I think some distance from Charlie will be good, until we figure out how to hide this from him."

"We should probably say goodbye to him. Don't you think?" Edward rolled on to his side, propping his head in his hand.

"Yeah. I'm not scared of hurting him. I know I can control myself. I'm just worried he'll notice that I'm… different."

"You're still you, Bella. You're still his daughter." He pulled me into his arms and we both went back to staring up.

"So I guess we're moving to New Hampshire." I kissed his cheek. "Have you been there?"

"Yeah. You're going to love it. It's beautiful there. More sunlight to avoid, but still worth it."

"Where are we going to live?"

"We have a house there."

"Of course you do." I sarcastically remarked.

"I've got some pictures." He started to get up to go an retrieve them.

"Wait." I sat up and pulled myself in behind him. I raised up on my knees and placed my hands gently on his shoulders. "I don't need to see them now."

"Ok then." He stayed put. I began to massage his shoulder through his shirt. I could feel his long, lean muscles tense up as I moved my hands down his back.

"Relax." I whispered, letting my mouth hover on his ear for a moment. I kept kneading at his flesh. Edward dropped his head and rolled it to one side revealing his neck to me, which I couldn't resist. I began strategically placing kisses in all the places I knew would drive him wild: his jaw line, his ear, his neck.

"What are you doing to me?" He moaned out.

I reached around him and started tugging at the navy polo shirt that hugged his frame perfectly. He knew what I wanted and quickly obliged by removing it. I did the same with mine. Still sitting behind him, I ran my hands from his shoulders down to the top of his pants and back up. I pressed my skin to his, while breathing in his scent. I pulled my hands up and began running them through his hair. Edward reached around behind him and ran his hands up and down the tops of my thighs. His long fingers trailed across my skin and I felt myself shiver. I couldn't resist him any longer. I stood up off the bed and walked around to face him. I kneeled down in front of him and placed my hands on each side of him zipper. I gave him a playful smile and raised an eyebrow. As I undid the button on his jeans, I ran my tongue across his waistline and then gave him another smile.

"You have no idea how bad I want you right now." He smirked as brushed the hair from my face. I kept enticing him with my lips as I finally slide his zipper down, revealing what I'd been looking for the entire time, which in the state that it was in, was not hard to do.

"Why Mr. Cullen!" I playfully exclaimed drawing my hand up to my chest and batting my eyes. We laughed for a moment and then Edward took control of my once dominated situation. As he pulled me around underneath of him, he placed his lips on mine.

"Wait until you see what it can do." His grinned. And then he definitely showed me what it could do.


End file.
